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[] | 2016-08-29T02:50:25 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The worst fears of Rosemarie Blackburn’s two adult children were realised yesterday when they heard a single gunshot in their home and within seconds discovered their mother dead lying on the bathroom floor of their Trincity home.
As they attempted to g | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-28%2Fmurder-suicide-rocks-trincity.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Rosemarie%20Blackburn.jpg?itok=gqfaLtev | en | null | Murder-suicide rocks Trincity | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The worst fears of Rosemarie Blackburn’s two adult children were realised yesterday when they heard a single gunshot in their home and within seconds discovered their mother dead lying on the bathroom floor of their Trincity home.
As they attempted to get help from nearby neighbours they saw their father running out of the house, getting into his vehicle and speeding off.
Minutes after police officers from the Northern Division Task Force (NDTF) received information that the black Tucson SUV PBZ 6505 was spotted in a parked position at Osprey Drive, Millennium Park, Trincity.
As the officers approached the vehicle with guns at the ready, a gunshot rang off. Businessman Edrick Blackburn, 55, had shot himself in the head while in the driver’s seat.
Investigating officers told the T&T Guardian that around 9.45 am Blackburn got into an argument at his home at 3rd Street West, Beaulieu Avenue, Trincity with his wife, Rosemarie, known as Rosie. It was during the heated argument that Blackburn took his licensed firearm and shot 55-year-old Rosemarie twice in the chest. She collapsed and died in the bathroom of the flat concrete house.
Blackburn, who was a foreign used car dealer reportedly shot himself shortly
after noon.
The couple’s adult children, a man and a woman, are said to be very traumatised. They both sat in a white Nissan Tiida for hours outside the family’s house as Crime Scene Investigators processed the scene.
Rosemarie’s body was removed at 4.10 pm. However, investigators remained on the scene up to late yesterday carrying out further investigations.
The investigations were headed by Supt Stevenson Mark and Division Insp Nowbutt.
The T&T Guardian was told that both Blackburn and his wife often accused each other of being unfaithful in their marriage. Even earlier this week a big argument broke out between the two, according to police officers.
A close friend of the family, who wished not to be identified, described Rosemarie as a very pleasant, polite and courteous woman.
“She was well loved by all who knew her. She and her son were also so very close. I don’t even know how her son will survive with all this. It’s too much for them,” the close friend said.
A neighbour, who also wished not to be identified said they saw no sign that the couple might be experiencing domestic problems.
“In public they always seemed so happy but you really doesn’t know what people go through behind closed doors. We never had the slightest idea that something was drastically wrong with them,” the neighbour said.
An investigating officer, in speaking with the T&T Guardian, after Rosemarie’s body was removed, took the opportunity to urge victims of domestic abuse and violence to report all incidents to the police.
The officer also advised that in cases where a husband or wife owns a licensed firearms, a spouse being subjected to domestic abuse should immediately seek to inform the Police Commissioner in writing that they are victims and that they feel threatened. He said this is especially important, in cases where the firearm is legally licensed.
Investigations are continuing. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-28/murder-suicide-rocks-trincity | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/1b0a575b89b23a7ef3da68fab62f86d69513438a1e3efe0313b06851eebb5624.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:50:19 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The handing out of laptops to young students by the past government was just too costly and extensive. Many students tend to spend and waste too much time on the internet, not to mention social media.
I am wondering though, why the Government still | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-30%2Fdesktops-better-schools.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Desktops better for schools | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The handing out of laptops to young students by the past government was just too costly and extensive. Many students tend to spend and waste too much time on the internet, not to mention social media.
I am wondering though, why the Government still chooses to buy laptops instead of desktops to equip computer labs in schools. The temptation for a teacher to take a desktop unit home will be less than if a laptop is available. Indeed, a desktop is inherently cheaper. It is also cheaper to maintain, repair and secure.
Just one for the Minister of Education or the Minister of Planning.
Bowe Kishan
Valsayn | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-30/desktops-better-schools | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/66a9c266b171ecc6765a6d67caca056ecb5501525eb68c9e7931298c19b657a3.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:50:53 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | An estimated $20 million was spent to repair the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) which was ordered to be closed in April 2014 by Occupational Safety and Health Authority.
The facility, which was constructed in 2008 by Shanghai | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-31%2F20m-spent-fix-napa-defects.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Napa%2020%20mill.jpg?itok=_PyNthLc | en | null | $20m spent to fix NAPA defects | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | An estimated $20 million was spent to repair the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) which was ordered to be closed in April 2014 by Occupational Safety and Health Authority.
The facility, which was constructed in 2008 by Shanghai Construction Group, was one of the legacy buildings from the Patrick Manning administration and cost taxpayers over $500 million.
During a tour of the building yesterday, Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadbsy-Dolly said she was satisfied the building was now safe for the resumption of classes for music students and other users.
Cultural events, she said, should resume later in the year after a re-opening ceremony yet to be fixed.
According to the minister the Government will pay for the maintenance costs but the original contractor, Shanghai Corporation of China, will have to pay the costs of the structural repairs.
She said Udecott had requested that additional lighting and sound equipment should be purchased but the Cabinet was yet to approve that.
Equipment from NAPA have been transferred for use at Queen's Hall, St Ann's, and the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, San Fernando.
Chairman of Udecott, Noel Garcia, said renovation of the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium, Tarouba, was nearing completion.
He dismissed criticism the facility should be abandoned, saying it “should be used for the benefit of the people of T&T.”
He said the stadium would “provide a welcome relief to cricket fans and players in the South and Central regions.”
Garcia said the first game should take place in December at the Brian Lara Stadium. He said the estimated cost of repairs to the facility would be between $85 and $90 million. He said an estimated $800 million was already spent to construct it and should not be abandoned.
Construction began in May 2005 with an initial cost estimate of $275 million. The stadium, which has a capacity of 17,000, was to be completed before the hosting of the Cricket World Cup in 2007 but was hit with multiple delays and cost overruns.
On another project, the Children Hospital, Couva, which was built by Chinese contractors, Garcia said work there was complete and the facility was now under the control of Udecott.
Opposition MPs have been calling on the Government to open the facility which was constructed under the former People’s Partnership government.
Garcia said yesterday: “We have taken over the Couva Hospital and it is really now up to the Cabinet to direct Udecott as to the next step.”—with reporting by Richard Lord | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-31/20m-spent-fix-napa-defects | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/e3cfbf6ff985c8a0cf54175bb34a02ef14481ed0e6bf061a3f3d3a684c63c38c.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:20 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The decision by Madam Justice Mira Dean-Armorer two Fridays ago in the case of five election petitions brought by the UNC against the EBC and the victorious PNM candidates in St Joseph, Tunapuna, Toco-Sangre Grande, San Fernando West and Moruga-Tableland | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-28%2Ffuture-trends-caribbean-democracies.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Dr%20hamid%20ghany_55.jpg?itok=94eMIq5J | en | null | Future trends in Caribbean democracies | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The decision by Madam Justice Mira Dean-Armorer two Fridays ago in the case of five election petitions brought by the UNC against the EBC and the victorious PNM candidates in St Joseph, Tunapuna, Toco-Sangre Grande, San Fernando West and Moruga-Tableland has provided some direction as to the future of Caribbean democracies.
In her judgment she essentially held that the EBC broke the law when they extended the polling time from 6 pm to 7 pm in Trinidad and that, because of substantial compliance by the EBC in other aspects of their polling day duties, there was no basis to disturb the results in those constituencies.
The debate that has since emerged is one between the recognition of illegality in the discharge of a public function by a public body and the tempering of the effect of that illegality by substantial compliance otherwise in the discharge of that function.
It appears that there was reliance on an Antiguan case of Quinn-Leandro v Jonas [2010] 78 WIR 216 which Justice Dean-Armorer cited at paragraph 164 of her judgment in which Rawlins CJ had this to say: “An election court would not invalidate an election on the ground that there was substantial non-compliance with electoral law, pursuant to section 32(4) of the Representation of the People Act, if the breach of elections procedure stipulated by law was trivial. There had to be such a substantial departure from elections procedure stipulated by law that would cause an ordinary person to condemn the election as a sham or travesty. A considerable departure was required. Accordingly, an election court would usually only invalidate an election on that ground if the judge was really satisfied that the breach was serious.”
The thinking in this Antiguan case has now been applied to elections in T&T and what is emerging is the spread of a doctrine of substantial compliance being greater that illegality in the performance of the public duty of conducting an election.
The next time a candidate seeks to challenge the actions of any election authority in another Commonwealth Caribbean jurisdiction, these two precedents may be advanced as a protection for the actions of the election authorities. This makes an appeal so vital in the current case.
There is a fundamental question of law to be determined here which may very well provide a road map for Commonwealth Caribbean democracies about the way in which their elections are to be handled. Are there any consequences at all for a public authority for breaking the law? Are there no consequences for breaking the law if there is substantial compliance with everything else despite the illegality?
In a letter to the editor of the Express last Thursday, Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, who appeared for the PNM in the case, wrote to advocate that there was no politics in the judge’s ruling and to challenge the views expressed by some commentators who said that there was politics in her ruling.
Mendes, in his letter, said inter alia: “ . . . Recently in Antigua, for example, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal refused to declare an election void even though voting hours were reduced substantially, creating the potential that some electors may have been deprived of the opportunity to vote. On the evidence, the court found that the reduction in voting hours did not affect the result and, given that the voter turnout was high in any event, the will of the electorate had been expressed . . .”
This was a description of the same Quinn-Leandro v Jonas case that the judge relied upon in her judgment. What is emerging in Commonwealth Caribbean jurisprudence is an attitude of elasticity towards illegality on the part of public authorities with regard to elections.
As described by Mendes, the Antiguan case involved a shortening of the polling time which was deemed to be tolerable by the court, while the Trinidadian case involved an extension of the polling time which was also deemed to be tolerable by the local court.
The fundamental issue involved here is whether Caribbean democracies are prepared to accept this kind of judicial elasticity in the holding of their elections regardless of whether it is an extension or a curtailment of the statutory polling hours. What other areas of elasticity exist for illegality to be trumped by substantial compliance ?
Would someone who holds the nationality of the country where he/she is contesting an election be deemed to have been properly elected because there was substantial compliance with election day procedures notwithstanding the fact that he/she may lawfully hold another nationality simultaneously?
Would the court be prepared to tolerate the fact that persons may be turned away from the polls during the period of an extension of time because the presiding officer was not aware that there was an extension?
Would the court be prepared to tolerate a repeat in either Antigua or T&T of these events as long as there is substantial compliance otherwise?
These are fundamental questions for the future of Caribbean democracies that must be answered. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-28/future-trends-caribbean-democracies | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f731e11e40fade8994008d2492b4634f8d9bdd33f5cc8ca4c55769ce95ea5c1e.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T10:49:10 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | While most people in T&T would be at the market this morning, the world champions West Indies will be battling India at 10 am at the Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale USA in the first of two Paytm Twenty20 (T20) matches.
The time for | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-28%2Fworld-champs-windies-look-show-force.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | World champs Windies look to show force | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | While most people in T&T would be at the market this morning, the world champions West Indies will be battling India at 10 am at the Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale USA in the first of two Paytm Twenty20 (T20) matches.
The time for the match has been fixed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who is in charge of these matches. BCCI will beam the matches ‘live’ to India at prime time 7.30 pm for its massive following in India.
West Indies will go into the battle with a new captain in the form Carlos Brathwaite. He is looking ahead to the clash with great enthusiasm.
“I am very excited as it is a very big honour to captain the West Indies and to lead a great bunch of guys in what we hope to be a series win.
“I have gotten a great vote of confidence from senior guys so at the team meeting it was just about finding a way to win these games.”
The Barbadian, who shot to fame after hitting England’s Ben Stokes for four successive sixes to lead the West Indies to the World T20 title is expecting plenty of runs from the Broward pitch.
“If the pitch is anything like the practice pitch we can see scores in excess of 180 to 200 runs,” said Braithwaite. “By all reports the CPL matches here were a tremendous success as the pitches were reported to be good and once that happens again we will have a great game of cricket.”
The ground is expected to be sold out today, with 10,000 fans likely showing for the match. They are mainly non-resident Indians living here so the West Indies will not enjoy the majority crowd support. This is not a problem for the Windies according to Brathwaite.
“Well we played them in India in the semifinals and won so that is not really a factor. It isn’t anything foreign. The most important thing is when you cross the line. Even if the people of the Caribbean are not here, we know they are supporting us and we want to give them 110 percent in order to win the matches.”
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, “West Indies is an extraordinary team in the limited-overs format. Sometimes having one allrounder can give you balance. They have two or three. Power-hitters become crucial in the smaller formats, and they have so many of them. They also play an entertaining brand of cricket so it will be a challenge for us.”
The rain is likely to play a hand on this weekend’s activities as the forecast in not promising at all. The risk of flooding, downpours and gusty thunderstorms are expected to spread toward Southern Florida as a tropical disturbance spreads northwestward from Cuba.
While the risk of a tropical storm or hurricane striking southeastern Florida has diminished for this weekend, a tropical disturbance, dubbed 99L, still threatens.
T20 Squads
West Indies: Andre Fletcher, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine.
India: MS Dhoni (Capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-28/world-champs-windies-look-show-force | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/575c2ee405070e592faa135954b06c134754fb23de8fa4456d996c2510d67035.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:49:22 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Five finger, also known as star fruit, or Averrhoa carambola, its scientific/botanical name, is a curious, attractive fruit of the oxalis family, Oxalidaceae. This popular fruit tree was named in honour of an Arabian physician called Averrhoes, while the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-28%2Fantioxidant-rich-five-fingers.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-10_36.jpg?itok=xppufmfJ | en | null | Antioxidant-rich five fingers | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Five finger, also known as star fruit, or Averrhoa carambola, its scientific/botanical name, is a curious, attractive fruit of the oxalis family, Oxalidaceae. This popular fruit tree was named in honour of an Arabian physician called Averrhoes, while the epithet is Spanish in origin.
The fruit is popular throughout the tropics, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Micronesia, and parts of East Asia. They remain a local favourite in those areas but have gained popularity in Queensland, Australia, as well as in the Pacific Islands, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States.
Five finger is an elegant, densely limbed arching and spreading small tree with bright green, lustrous foliage. When in flower, it is very decorative with each slender limb smothered in pinkish red or purplish blooms. It is a vigorous tree that may produce several harvests within a year.
Five finger is a tropical and subtropical fruit which can be grown at elevations up to 1,200 metres (4,000 feet). It prefers full sun exposure, but requires enough humidity and annual rainfall of at least 1,800 mm (70 in). Trees flowers throughout the year and typically produce fruit at four or five years of age.
Fruits are distinctively five-lobed and slice into attractive star-shaped section. It is about five to 15 centimetres (two to six inches) in length and is oval shaped. It usually has five prominent longitudinal ridges but in rare instances can have as few as four or as many as eight. The skin is thin, smooth, and waxy and turns a light to dark yellow when ripe. The flesh is translucent and light yellow to yellow in colour. Each fruit can have ten to 12 flat light brown seeds about six to 13 mm (0.25 to 0.5 in) in width.
The entire fruit is edible and is usually eaten out of hand. They may also be used in cooking and can be made into relishes, preserves, and juice drinks.
There are two main types of five finger: the small sour (or tart) type and the larger sweet type. The sour varieties have a higher oxalic acid content than the sweet type. A number of sweet cultivars have been developed in recent years. In the ‘80s, a private horticulturist introduced several sweet varieties of five fingers from Thailand into T&T. These varieties were subsequently propagated and now can be found throughout both islands. To maintain the sweet varieties, scion from these trees are grafted onto seedling plants.
Five fingers are rich in antioxidants, potassium, Vitamin C and low in sugar, sodium, and fruit acids. It is a potent source of primary and secondary polyphenolic antioxidants. Averrhoa carambola has both antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and extracts have shown antimicrobial activity against E.coli, Klebsiella spp, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
It belongs to the oxalis family meaning that fruits contain oxalic acid. Other members of this family include the Bilimbi.
Five fingers contain caramboxin and oxalic acid, both of which are harmful to individuals suffering from kidney failure, kidney stones, or those under kidney dialysis treatment.
Consumption by those with kidney failure can produce hiccups, vomiting, nausea, mental confusion, and sometimes death. Recent research has identified caramboxin as a neurotoxin which is structurally similar to phenylalanine, as well as a glutamatergic agonist.
Despite its toxicity to renally-compromised individuals, the levels of oxalic acid and caramboxin in five fingers are low enough to be safely processed by the general population for whom it is both safe and healthy. It is advised to consult a healthcare practitioner before eating five fingers or its products if taking any kind of pharmaceutical drug.
Ripe fruit can be eaten fresh, sliced into salads and also used as a decorative garnish for food. Given its high oxalic acid content and extreme tartness, fruits are juiced and served as a cooling beverage. Five finger juice is also used as a base for fruit punches and other drinks.
In Hawaii, the juice of sour fruits is mixed with gelatin, sugar, lemon juice and boiling water to make sherbet. Filipinos often use the juice as a seasoning. The juice is bottled in India, either with added citric acid (one per cent by weight) or merely sterilizing the filled bottles for half hour in boiling water. To make jelly, it is necessary to use unripe "sweet" types, or ripe sour types and add commercial pectin or some other fruit rich in pectin such as green papaya, together with lemon or lime juice. Fruits can be processed into pickles and made into chutneys, sauces, wines and jellies. It may also be canned, preserved and dried.
Ripe harvested fruit tend to perish early. However, they stay well in cold storage. Fruit do not ripen or increase in sweetness after being harvested, therefore at the mature turning stage they are best harvested.
Like the bilimbi, the juice of the more acidic sour varieties can be used to clean rusty or tarnished metal (especially brass) as well as bleach rust stains from cloth. They may also be used as a mordant in dyeing.
Five finger trees can also be grown and used for ornamental purposes for its abundant brightly coloured and unusually shaped fruits, as well as for their attractive dark green leaves and lavender to pink flowers. Trees can be easily grown in large pots in the garden. They will remain small and bear fruit. Care should be taken to secure a well-drained soil mixture and pots should be kept in full sunshine and fertilised regularly. If planting in the ground, trees can be pruned to keep them manageable if space is limited.
Five Finger Juice
INGREDIENTS
4 ripe five fingers
Sugar to taste
1 dash bitters
3 cups water (divided).
METHOD
• Wash and cut up the five finger.
• Blend with 1 cup of water and strain.
• Squeeze the pulp to extract more juice.
• Add two more cups of water. Add bitters and sugar to taste and stir. Mix well.
• Adjust sugar if necessary.
• Serve chilled or with ice.
NOTE: You should not drink too much of this juice as it has been known to cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and backache, especially if consumed on an empty stomach.
This series is written in collaboration with Cynthra Persad, retired director of Research, Ministry of Agriculture. For information on getting copies of the 2 Crops of T&T charts, email fruitstt@live.com | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-28/antioxidant-rich-five-fingers | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/51a743b45112655b9dfce18fd614cffe888ff3f140aaa50da742715eee004783.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T02:50:15 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | A clerical court error may have caused a 34-year-old mother of seven to lose custody of two of her children.
Laventille resident Natasha De Silva is now seeking any legal aid she can get to assist her in regaining supervision of her children.
The single | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-29%2Fmom-must-wait-case-hearing.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Natasha%20De%20Silva.jpg?itok=gCm6r6cG | en | null | Mom must wait for case hearing | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | A clerical court error may have caused a 34-year-old mother of seven to lose custody of two of her children.
Laventille resident Natasha De Silva is now seeking any legal aid she can get to assist her in regaining supervision of her children.
The single mother has always taken care of brothers — Nathaniel and Tyrese, aged four and five — and was fighting for full custodial rights at the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Family Court.
But when she missed her last court date, due to an error she claims was made by a court official, Magistrate Ejenny Espinet ruled in favour of the boys’ father, Declan Ashton.
She had ended her relationship with Ashton over three years ago and has been going through the custody battle two years now. Her last court appearance was on June 7 when the matter was adjourned to August 23.
But one week before the court date, De Silva said she received a call from the court, a number she is familiar with having dealt with numerous matters at the institution, where an official said the matter was postponed to October 27 for 10.45 am.
It wasn’t until the day after August 23, when the boys’ father came with police officers to her home at Prizgar Lands, Laventille, and took her sons from her care did she realise something was wrong.
“I have restraining order against this man. It is a constant battle with this man. It’s hurting me day and night and the magistrate gave custody of my children to this man,” De Silva said.
She said the letter provided by police revealed the reason for the interim order for legal custody to the children’s father was because De Silva was absent on August 23.
“In the court, by the secretary who does write down everything from the court, it have that I was locked up so he got legal custody of Nathaniel and Tyrese,” De Silva added.
At her neatly packed away rented Ogaro Road home yesterday, De Silva fingered through her call log pointing out to the T&T Guardian when the call came in on August 15 at 11.40 am. Calls to the number confirmed it belonged to the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago.
Brought to tears as she told her story, De Silva said it was hurting her immensely to know her sons were going through that.
“They are just babies and they have everything they need here by me,” she said.
De Silva, who works at a Barataria bakery, told the T&T Guardian she was accustomed to receiving calls from clerks at the court and so did not suspect anything untoward when she got the call telling of the change in the date.
“They call if there is a time change or if a matter postponed because a magistrate is not available. So is a customary thing, so that’s what make me know well right, that’s the court number yes, the matter postponed, so I didn’t pay it any mind. Is the court number but I didn’t know this time was a fraudulent call for me to lose my two kids,” she said.
She said all she wanted now was assistance to pursue legal channels to get back her boys and then seek legal redress.
She added: “I not lying to tell anybody, this is hurting me, I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t function properly. It have me in a kind of state of depression.
“And they telling me the magistrate made her decision and I have to wait till the matter is called back on September 27.” | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-29/mom-must-wait-case-hearing | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/74fc37de92541f6053e7631495f6783f83dad1b5f193c592090411de49eed5c8.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:50:16 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Does the Cabinet of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley have a Ministry of National Security? It would seem not because there has not been even a whimper from that ministry about the recent discovery of more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition in two separate | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-28%2Fworrying-silence-national-security-minister.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Worrying silence from National Security Minister | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Does the Cabinet of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley have a Ministry of National Security? It would seem not because there has not been even a whimper from that ministry about the recent discovery of more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition in two separate raids in south Trinidad.
This is a ministry with three ministers—Edmund Dillon, a former soldier of very high rank; Dennis Moses, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who usually says nothing about foreign affairs far more national security and the indomitable Stuart Young, the minister of everything—but they all seem to be doing nothing about crime.
Last week a child was killed in a crossfire between bandits, another was killed in a fire from which her parents and relatives were unable to save her and a kidnapping was thwarted by police intervention, but no one was held. There have been countless other incidents and all that is forthcoming from the ministers or the ministry is that they are “concerned.” No messages of sympathy, no condolences, no remorse, nothing at all.
T&T murder toll at the time of writing is just a few short of crossing the 300 mark. Very few arrests have been made but the police are always quick to say that “investigations are continuing” even when prospects for arrests seem remote. Still, the ministry gives the public nothing of substance.
Even police officers, vested with the responsibility of keeping the nation secure, are themselves victims of bandits, and that is increasing as I write. A bandit took little umbrage at stealing a policeman’s motorbike and within three days there was a case of breaking and entering a home belonging to another officer. Still the ministry maintains its silence.
I guess the ministry would say criminal investigations are the province of the Police Service and I agree, but it is the responsibility of the Minister of National Security to give the nation some hope that things will get better, that the police arrest rate will improve because of their strategies. Tell us something.
We must pay attention to columnist Ralph Maraj when he addresses the question of Isis operatives returning to T&T. He reminded us of chilling calls for “Muslims of Trinidad” to “kill Christians” and “make the streets run with their blood.” The ministry has not said anything, except they are still waiting to identify if any T&T citizens are being held in Turkey. We too shall wait.
Last week, the Police Service’s Michael Pierre said serious crimes in T&T are down. I do not know whether the murder rate was taken into account because that rate certainly was not down. However, we have seen a spike in home invasions and we hear of people throwing stones at cars near Gulf City to facilitate robberies and car jackings.
This column calls on the Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon, or even Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, as head of the National Security Council, to speak to the public and at least give some idea of what plans the Government has to bring down the increasing number of killings in the country. Give the public something to hold on to.
Vernon Khelawan is a columnist for Catholic Media Services Limited (Camsel), the official communications arm of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain. Its offices are located at 31 Independence Square. Telephone: 623-7620. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-28/worrying-silence-national-security-minister | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/76d4d3b339dc4d6359424f06a8eb13325ab85b168bb00253a3204298f1b2c6f2.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:48:30 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | “A people uninterested in its art…its artist and its history are a people not worthy of an independent state….and we in Trinidad and Tobago are worthy.” These platitudes were quoted by Dr Rowley at the recent opening of the Cazabon Legacy exhibition curre | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-27%2Fwhere-are-we-regarding-arts-culture-heritage.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Where are we regarding the arts, culture, heritage? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | “A people uninterested in its art…its artist and its history are a people not worthy of an independent state….and we in Trinidad and Tobago are worthy.” These platitudes were quoted by Dr Rowley at the recent opening of the Cazabon Legacy exhibition currently taking place at the Diplomatic Centre. As we draw near to our 54th Independence anniversary, where are we as a people regarding the arts, culture, heritage and legacy.
History has shown that Trinis don’t really care about their history. Who is to blame? This is the result of ad hoc decisions made by successive governments with the most damaging being the decision by many schools to stop teaching history. We sang Nation Dawning in schools and God Bless our Nation. Children today are clueless to the songs.
Remember the debacle that was Greyfriars and look at the Magnificent Seven and other derelict buildings around the country. Where is the history in schools? How can we as a people appreciate history when said politicians removed it from schools and TTUTA, NPTA teachers and principals sat idly by and said and did nothing?
The education minister lamented recently about our lack of nationalism and patriotism. There is disrespect for the national anthem and national flag. If these things are not inculcated in children how can they appreciate it?
So while I admire your gesture, goodly PM, tell me what has the Minster of Community Development Arts and Culture done for the last year? Except continuing what her predecessors started, that is, treat Carnival alone as culture in a diverse country?
The National Museum, the National Trust and National Archives fell under the umbrella of the former Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration (MNDSI). Dr Rowley, one of the concerns/fears at MNDSI when you announced you would disband the Ministry, was what would become of the work which was started? Would it be set aside?
Your government did not disappoint. True to form as the three bodies have been separated and now fall under different ministries where there is silence. The government has declared it cares about art and artists. Really!? You threw out the baby with the bath water. We keep doing the same nonsense repeatedly and expect different results.
What improvements have been made to the National Museum? Consultations were held across the country and the number of museums in the country both privately owned (family, groups) and government and government assisted museums compiled information. Where is this information today? Gathering dust in boxes.
Why has the Museum Board not been renewed since November 2015? How is money being disbursed, since the Act of 2000 clearly stipulates that a Statutory Board is responsible for disbursing funds and is answerable to the minister not to permanent secretaries, which has been the illegal practice for years in T&T.
The Draft Policy on the National Museum and National Heritage Policy is at a standstill. Consultations were held across the country for a Civil Society Board, elections held and the permanent secretary at the time refused to install the Board even though thousands of dollars were spent on this exercise.
A Cabinet-appointed First Peoples Committee representing the indigenous groups in T&T (and met monthly at the ministry) has been disbanded under this government. The Policy and Strategy Unit has been disbanded. So what is guiding the goodly minister? Is she groping in the dark and running the ministry day by day?
Let’s get real here. Art, history and legacy have never been given importance in T&T, just simply politicking and the charade continues unabated.
Mind you the Government alone is not at fault here since they get assistance from little pockets of “cultural lovers” who are hired and are so busy “eating ah food” that inaction by successive administrations is treated with silence. Fear of speaking up regarding the government’s inactivity means ostracism or no funding, so they remain silent.
What does being a Trini means to you? If we don’t know our past, we won’t know where we going.
Carol Ghany | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-27/where-are-we-regarding-arts-culture-heritage | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/659664ec9af888f5168d6f321211ad73655bdb3cf50991d1b609acc1492333e9.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:51:12 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Around the Queen’s Park Savannah, stands President’s House, built in 1876 and once described as one of the best pieces of architecture in the West Indies. The building, described as neo-Renaissance and Victorian, was the home of a string of colonial gov | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-31%2Fpresident%25E2%2580%2599s-house-blighted-neglect.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-5_188.jpg?itok=egfqCLB6 | en | null | President’s House blighted by neglect | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Around the Queen’s Park Savannah, stands President’s House, built in 1876 and once described as one of the best pieces of architecture in the West Indies. The building, described as neo-Renaissance and Victorian, was the home of a string of colonial governors, including Governor General of the Federated West Indies, Lord Hailes. It was called the Governor’s House during that time.
In 1960, it became the home of the first locally appointed governor, Sir Solomon Hochoy. After Independence, on August 1, 1976, when T&T became a Republic, the Governor-General's House became President’s House and became the residence of presidents Ellis Clarke, Noor Hassanali and ANR Robinson.
But by 2010, the roof of the termite-ridden building was so bad, it collapsed.
Former head of the History Department of the University of the West Indies, Professor Dr Brinsley Samaroo, said successive governments have said a lot about preserving physical heritage but, by and large, have not put these promises into effect. As a result, there has been continuous decay of the President’s House, Red House and other heritage buildings, he said.
“From time to time, ministers go and look at it and make good plans about rebuilding, and then you never hear from them again,” he commented.
Samaroo blames the decay of these heritage buildings on our lack of a sense of valuing our own history.
“T&T does not have a sense of history except for a small minority. The vast majority of people do not think history is important. They don’t think these buildings hold any rich cultural heritage. Generally, there is no pressure on the Government to refurbish or resuscitate them. This lack of interest is a reflection of an ignorance of our history. It shows a lack of a spirit of commitment to the country.”
At the President’s House grounds, incumbent President Anthony Carmona has moved into the renovated cottage, originally reserved for guests, and staff are reportedly working from containers. The media previously ran stories about the controversial $28,000 monthly tax-free housing allowance which was being paid to the President, in addition to him being accommodated at temporary quarters while the cottage was being renovated.
Impetus to renovate and repair seems constantly to be stymied. For instance, museum curator Claire Broadbridge wrote in the book Zalayhar Hassanali—Life of a First Lady of how under a previous PNM administration, the Canadian government had offered money to repair President’s House. Canada offered the funds (reportedly a large sum) as part of its thrust, at the time, to help restore heritage buildings in the Caribbean. But, Broadbridge said, unfortunately the repairs to President’s House never took place.
More recently, on November 2, 2015, after the current PNM Government was sworn into power, Works Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, in an online news report, said the refurbishment and renovation of President's House in St Ann's was a top priority. Hinds said a small allocation was made in the 2016 budget towards this project.
“We have been given assurances that whatever other monies are required, to the extent that we can afford it, will be made available for the refurbishment and renovation of this wonderful edifice,” Hinds said.
He said Rowley believed it was scandalous the building was allowed to languish over the past five years and had signalled to him and Finance Minister Colm Imbert that they had a mandate to get on with this job.
Meanwhile, architect Rudylyn Roberts, who heads the group Citizens for Conservation (CFC), believes there is no maintenance programme or proper system in place to deal with old buildings.
“They are like an old grandmother who is fragile and needs special care. After all these years, the buildings are still not repaired,” she said.
She said during a former PNM administration, repair work on President’s House was supposed to start. “A drawing was done. Work was started and it stopped.”
Roberts felt this administration was showing more interest by setting up a committee headed by Rowley himself.
“We are very hopeful. The CFC is looking on with fingers and toes crossed that this time, restoration will really start.”
Roberts believes this will take time and is not worried by the delays.
“You can’t make a decision to fix a building, and start renovations at once. They need to go in and establish what needs to be done, appoint consultants, do surveys, redo the drawing, go out for tenders, prepare budgets, go back to Town & Country, start over again.”
Roberts said the process to renovate the Red House and President’s House was already started with the appointment of consultants and added, “I can’t see it taking less than three years.”
She lamented that there is no national outcry to preserve these old buildings
“Preservation and heritage are usually low on the totem pole in a country when you’ve got issues like crime and health on the front burner. These are the things the man in the street looks to see progress in.
“The CFC tries to educate the public that the building belongs to us. Our parents and grandparents helped to build them. They brought sand and stone from Laventille.”
Roberts dismissed the notion that T&T’s unpleasant colonial history is causing the indifference from citizens.
“So what?” she said. “Look at Cuba. They threw out the Americans but have not knocked down any buildings constructed during their era in Cuba. They repaired them.
“We want to see our national heritage restored and taken care of for future generations. I want my great grandchildren to be able to see the Red House.
Despite all the promises, the Red House and President’s House are still in the same state.
Many attempts to get information from President’s House on the state of the building and the status of repair works were futile.
So were efforts to get updates on restoration work on the Red House from project managers, Udecott. Udecott is also in charge of repairs to President’s House.
Many other buildings need repairs, including some of the Magnificent Seven around the Queen’s Park Savannah, like Mille Fleurs, Hayes Court, Whitehall and Roomoor. Some are privately owned, some State-owned.
Sevilla House, the only existing sugar plantation house in T&T, renovated for a sugar museum under the last People’s Partnership administration, is now under lock and key once again and closed until further notice.
There are many other small historical buildings scattered all over T&T, like old post offices, temples, mosques and churches, which are deteriorating—with no one seeming to pay any mind.
Have the Red House, President’s House and other heritage buildings in T&T now become symbols of national decay? Why were they allowed to decay, and why have attempts to restore them consistently failed?
Some believe it simply has to do with a lack of national pride and a sense of history, while others, more discreetly, said it was because in a country where crime and health issues are paramount, people pay little attention to symbols of our past. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-31/president%E2%80%99s-house-blighted-neglect | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/a772680aa746d843617909f54af05f4f72cc609e400ef8acd2a0126017dcff31.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:44 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Ian K Ramdhanie, msC,
PRINCIPAL, CISPS
All hands on deck. This is needed to deal with the wide range of crimes taking place in T&T and the wider Caribbean. We need tools that will assist in the preventative, detection, solving and management sides | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-26%2Fcrime-fighting-through-social-media.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/CISPS%20Logo_16.jpg?itok=Ao_qRc9q | en | null | Crime-fighting through social media | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Ian K Ramdhanie, msC,
PRINCIPAL, CISPS
All hands on deck. This is needed to deal with the wide range of crimes taking place in T&T and the wider Caribbean. We need tools that will assist in the preventative, detection, solving and management sides of crime.
In this article, we will explore the uses of social media in crime-fighting. Briefly, social media is a web-based tool that allows users to create and share information with others. The most common social media tools in T&T include Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
Nielson, a reputable global information and measurement company, indicated that Internet users spend more time on social media sites than on any other type of sites. This, therefore, can lead us to the conclusion that potential and existing criminals or deviants who are Internet users will also spend time on social media. The challenge, therefore, is for the authorities to be able use social media to tackle crime.
Criminals, either individually or in groups, may use social media to plan, execute and/or report on their activities. In the latter, it may be to claim responsibility in cases of terrorist acts, for example. Social media may also be used by criminals to “brag” about their accomplishments to friends and followers. The recent post by the Rasta City Gang in Trinidad via WhatsApp on their arsenal of arms and ammunition is just one example. Make no doubt about it, criminals are using social media just as non-criminals.
In T&T and the other Caribbean countries, there are a number of authorities that should be using social media to monitor the activities of criminally-inclined persons and organisations. These include police, military, prisons, intelligence, investigators, probation officers, senior security personnel, etc.
Further, and importantly, we should be thinking outside of the box. Should financial institutions monitor the social media activities of employees and customers to ascertain if criminal activities are being planned? Or further, should employers monitor the social media activities of employees to determine if anything untoward is being planned? Issues of privacy and human rights surface here and should be debated.
Training, a big topic. The authorities that ought to be employing the use of social media in crime fighting must be adequately trained. We are certain that criminal gang members communicate using social media and possess a particular vocabulary/code that must be interpreted. Terrorists would also use social media sites to plan and execute their acts.
Additionally, drug traffickers also use social media sites to set up and deliver on their exchanges. Car stealing rackets also utilise the services of social media interconnectivities. Similarly, kidnapping groups access the services of social media sites. What about the importation of arms and ammunition? These transactions also use social media opportunities. Will white-collar criminals use social media applications? Most certainly, yes.
Crimes and offences that are committed by students in secondary and even primary schools; do they use social media to plan and share their activities? Yes. We have seen numerous incidents of fights in and around schools that were posted on facebook for example. Should parents, teachers, deans, principals, guidance counsellors etc, be trained to use social media investigative techniques to monitor the activities of children?
We have all seen pictures and videos taken from inside of the prisons in Trinidad and posted on social media while these devices are prohibited. We have also heard allegations that “shots” are called from within the prison via possible use of social media, cell phone and other lines of communication. What role can prison officers play in using social media investigations to monitor, detect and even prevent future crimes?
There is a strong evidential case that social media can be used to deal with crime. The times have changed considerably from only a few years ago. It will continue to change possibly at an exponential rate. The use of technology, more so, web-based ones, will be of extreme importance. All relevant personnel in this industry must be appropriately prepared otherwise they will always be several steps behind the criminals.
The Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety brings this social media and crime-fighting training right onto our doorsteps from September 7-9, 2016 in Trinidad with the experts from Miami Dade College School of Justice. People from the various police, military, corrections, corporate security, investigations, intelligence, private security etc, organisations can benefit from this hands-on training.
We can’t afford to be left behind. We need to increase the number of people and institutions involved in using social media to fight crime, to conduct investigations, to prevent crime, etc.
Social media can be used to unearth vital information that may not have been available through conventional means. It’s a vital source of information. We often hear complaints that the police need more information, we need the public and witnesses to come forward, etc. Now, we have tools to capture information available through other sources. Let’s use the technology to make our society a safer one for all. We must be steps ahead of the criminals.
Contact the CISPS for the Using Social Media in Investigations international training, Sept 7-9, 2016. Tel: 223-6999, 299-8635, info@caribbeansecurityinstitute.com, www.caribbeansecurityinstitute.com. Over 100 other courses are also available. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-26/crime-fighting-through-social-media | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/8e3a204ebffc133ec78eb73c626b52b42bcb443212f303994a13e3e9a3741b9f.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:51:42 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcovers%2Fwednesday-31st-august-2016.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Wednesday 31st August, 2016 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Settle Early: Boucaud warns Soca Warriors teammates England-born Andre Boucaud of Dagenham & Redbridge has called on his teammates in the Stephen Hart-coached Soca Warriors to avoid the encounter getting the better of them if they wish to move...
Gold for Griffith in Pan Am sambo T&T’s Gershon Griffith and Jeremy Rudolpho have earned the country’s first four medals at the Pan American Sambo Championship, currently taking place in Paraguay.
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Man shot dead by cops during roadblock The daughter of Curt Moses, who was killed by police on Friday night, believes there is an attempt to cover up her father’s killing by the lawmen and this was the reason his body was not taken to...
Local theatre pays tribute to Kissoon The local thThe local theatre community reacted with grief after news broke of the death of celebrated playwright Freddie Kissoon.
We must work on positives from Rio Track and field was the biggest attraction in Rio. That was not unexpected.
The great vacuum of mental health services I am concluding the thoughts on tolerance but, until improved, it will remain an outstanding issue so I will be getting back to it.
Horse killed after Caroni collision so motorists advised: Beware of crossing caimans On Monday, a wandering reptile brought rush hour traffic to a halt along the South-bound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway as it made its way across the highway near the Caroni Swamp. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/covers/wednesday-31st-august-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/b256f2b223fb9bd3917647d2f4f17d6af47c982820ddd291ffbff881e16de542.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:48:50 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | ROSEMARIE SANT
Rural Development and Local Government Minister Franklin Khan is promising a return of “sanity” to the Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) which he describes as “a political hotbed which appeared to ha | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Flocal-govt-minister-vows-i-will-bring-back-sanity-cepep.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Local Govt minister vows: I will bring back sanity to CEPEP | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | ROSEMARIE SANT
Rural Development and Local Government Minister Franklin Khan is promising a return of “sanity” to the Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) which he describes as “a political hotbed which appeared to have lost its moorings in the last five years.”
Khan was assigned the responsibility for CEPEP at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Since September last year when the PNM Government took office, the programme had been under the portfolio of Public Utilities Minister Ancil Antoine.
The move comes as CEPEP moves to terminate as many as 175 contractors out of the 265 contractors on its payroll, a decision which has left much of the 12,000-strong workforce in a state of anxiety. Each contractor has about six work gangs with ten employees each. The annual budget for the programme stands at approximately $300 million.
Over the years, CEPEP employees have been used to bolster crowds at political rallies by both the ruling People’s National Movement and the United National Congress and many workers admitted in the past that their jobs depended on whom they voted for.
CEPEP chairman Trevor Lynch told the T&T Guardian on Wednesday that the jobs of the 12,000 workers were safe but that depended on the budgetary allocation in the next fiscal year. He emphasised that the change of the majority of contractors would not affect the rank and file employees, many of whom were single parents.
Khan would not say whether Rowley was unhappy with the way the programme had progressed under the Ministry of Public Utilities, telling the T&T Guardian that it was the “sole responsibility of the Prime Minister to assign portfolios.”
But he sought to dispel any notion that the move was linked to the upcoming Local Government elections which are due by January 2017. He said the move was not “specific to do with Local Government election.”
Told that by using the word specific he left the door open for people to speculate on the reason, Khan said: “People will always interpret things as they want.” Khan is also chairman of the ruling People’s National Movement and a key strategist in the party’s election machinery.
The minister, who is still “taking things a bit easy” following triple by-pass surgery earlier this year, said the bottom line is that the mandate of CEPEP is “more synchronised with the Ministry of Local Government...rather than the Ministry of Public Utilities.”
He said there are “administrative issues with CEPEP” which he intended to address.
Khan admitted that he still has to be “briefed” about the programme. But he intends to meet with the CEPEP chairman Trevor Lynch and the board on Monday to discuss the programme. He is keen to find out “what has been the cause for the reduction in productivity in the programme.”
Khan said: “We spending a hell of a lot of money, but we not getting value. I intend to bring some sanity back to the programme. CEPEP is a political hotbed and I will give myself some time to recommend some changes.”
He said when the programme was conceptualised by former prime minister Patrick Manning, who died in July, “it was to help budding entrepreneurs who did not have the capital base and there is also the environmental element to improve the environmental ambiance. But it seems that the programme lost its moorings in the last five years,” when the People’s Partnership was in power.
But former Housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday dismissed that notion, saying “under our administration CEPEP was doing much more than cutting grass.
He said: “We had a marine element, environmental, and a small drainage programme to prevent flooding. That is why in the last five years there were no major floods in the country.”
Moonilal: A move to
politicise the programme
Moonilal said the Prime Minister’s decision to re-assign the programme to Khan was “a vote of no confidence in the Minister of Public Utilities Ancil Antoine,” who he said “failed to manage the programme properly.”
He said since September last year the company had “changed general managers five times.” He also felt that the shift “is a blatant and naked attempt at discrimination and victimisation” coming as it does mere months before the Local Government elections which are due by January 2017.
Moonilal said: “It is a blatant attempt to politicise the programme by giving control to the chairman of the party. Clearly there is an attempt to pass the programme to the General Council of the PNM.” He said in the period prior to 2010 before the People’s Partnership came to power “several members of the PNM General Council were contractors in CEPEP.”
Khan said there is “always a political side to CEPEP,” but he said “whether is PNM or UNC contractors we will be even-handed in giving out contracts.” | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/local-govt-minister-vows-i-will-bring-back-sanity-cepep | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9cc0f87e5c4cc4ff32146395164c22a5dd0289354dbfe8599fabb738a809db1f.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:49:45 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fpublications%2Fbusiness-guardian-2016-08-25.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Business Guardian 2016-08-25 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Minister concerned about oil spills Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre says she is extremely concerned about recent oilspills, particularly those affecting fishing communities in her La Brea constituency.
Youth spokesman urges: Put young people on state boards More young people should be on state boards, says vice-chairperson for policy, advocacy and projects of the Commonwealth Youth Council, Nikoli Edwards.
Samba show to reveal soul of Brazil UWI, St Augustine, will join with the Brazilian Embassy in hosting the concert A Alma Brasileira—The Brazilian Soul on September 7.
Storytelling with Auntie Thea, Uncle Kole Children at the Sangre Grande and Port-of-Spain children’s libraries were in for a special treat when Auntie Thea, the “Mystic Storyteller,” visited their vacation camp sites with an international...
Treat Tassa with respect Tassa music is being treated with disrespect by politicians in T&T, according to Wendel Eversley, the vice president of the Tassa Association of T&T (TATT).
Construction worker shot dead outside bar Less than 24 hours after a police mobile unit was set up in La Romaine following the shocking murder of nine-year-old schoolboy Cyon Paul, another man has been shot dead.
Woodland vendors plead hardship Crab and oyster venders in Woodland who have been struggling to survive since oil seeped into the mangrove more than a month ago also want monetary assistance from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley...
History of T&T chess needs to be published When Ian Ali, well known teacher, author and chess player, was asked by the T&TCA earlier this year to write a history of the sport in Trinidad and Tobago he readily accepted.
Women urged to leave abusive relationships Be proactive and not reactive. Words of advice to women in abusive relationships and homes by Madinah House president, Lydia Choate. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/publications/business-guardian-2016-08-25 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/4a803ca4f7c0aa0576abec8bb6f3472f371b8f43206ee60087ea6711e0c55708.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:49:55 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Pupils who will be entering Form One in secondary schools in the new school term, which opens on September 5, will face disappointment as they will not be receiving free personal laptops from the Government.
Instead, the Government, in revamping the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fno-more-take-home-laptops-students.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | No more take home laptops for students | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Pupils who will be entering Form One in secondary schools in the new school term, which opens on September 5, will face disappointment as they will not be receiving free personal laptops from the Government.
Instead, the Government, in revamping the laptop distribution programme, will seek to equip 50 high-quality laptops per school.
This was yesterday revealed by Education Minister Anthony Garcia during a press conference at the Ministry of Education, in St Clair.
Garcia said that the new policy was a major departure from the practice of the former government—the People's Partnership government—which a study conducted showed was wasteful and counter-productive.
Garcia disclosed that 12,600 laptops will be purchased for use by Form One and Two students, "of that 6,300 will be for the use of Form One's and 6,300 for Form Two's. 50 laptops will be used by Form One's in each secondary school and they would not be given as personal laptops but rather the laptops will be as property of the schools."
Garcia also disclosed that Internet access in the schools will be upgraded and teacher training in ICT will be introduced.
"This new policy will prevent waste that occurred over the last five years as it was proven that the laptops were mainly used by the students for the playing of games and recording of fights because there was no availability of connectivity to the Internet, which in other words proved to be counter-productive," Garcia said.
"We are ensuring value for money and ensuring that the laptops be put to the correct use," he said.
When asked how much money the Government will be saving now that the programme has been revamped, Garcia said approximately $30 million a year. He claimed that under the previous government a laptop cost between $12,000 to $15,000 and under the new initiative it will only cost the Government $4,135.79 each. He said that the overall the cost of the revamped programme will be in the tune of $62 million, as opposed to the last government spending in excess of $500 million on the same initiative.
Opposition condemns move
In response to Garcia's announcement, former Education minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh disputed the figures disclosed by Garcia.
"Altogether we would have spent $250 million for the five years. We, through the Central Tenders Board, in the first year purchased a unit for $4,200 and by 2015, we were purchasing per laptop at $2,200," Gopeesingh said.
"And these laptops were of high quality. When I came in I met connectivity in schools at some degree and that was improved from five megabytes to 100 megabytes," he said.
Gopeesingh also claimed that each secondary school had between one and six computer labs, where one lab averaged about 60 computers.
"I think that the Minister of Education is being mischievous there in his figures and should be relieved of his responsibilities because he has carried the education process back by 20 years in just one year," Gopeesingh said.
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar described the decision as another example of the Keith Rowley administration not understanding the benefits of investing in education. Speaking to CNC3 last night, Persad-Bissessar said the new policy also limits development of the country.
She also questioned what happened to the laptops bought for distribution last year. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/no-more-take-home-laptops-students | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9ddf3033160d0b542d259068c6044ae31d1c8e7dd56de525cd3e0bae56d421a7.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:50:33 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | “Investing in improving innovation quality is essential for closing the innovation divide. While institutions create an essential supportive framework for doing so, economies need to focus on reforming education and growing their research capabilities to | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-28%2Ftransforming-thinking-through-education.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/TONYFRASER_46.jpg?itok=aAT0Ba3a | en | null | Transforming thinking through education | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | “Investing in improving innovation quality is essential for closing the innovation divide. While institutions create an essential supportive framework for doing so, economies need to focus on reforming education and growing their research capabilities to compete successfully in a rapidly changing globalized world.”
—Soumitra Dutta, Dean, Cornell College of Business, and co-editor of the Global Innovation Report (GIR) 2016
I return to the matter of innovation for economic advance. I do so to look more specifically at the needed transformation of thinking in our education system. An immediate example of the shift in focus needed is found in the matters that are agitating us on the eve of the reopening of the school term. Has sufficient rehabilitation work been done for all schools to be re-opened on the scheduled date? And how is the burdensome debt to contractors left behind by the last government for work done on school repair and construction to be paid?
While these are very important and practical matters for students and contractors, they are basic and should not crowd out discussions related to transformation of the curriculum to create space and time for innovative teaching and learning opportunities.
As indicated by the Global Innovation Report quoted above, it is clear that the cultivation of innovative thinking must be encouraged in the education system, in business and industrial production and in the political culture to transform the economy from its historical beginnings.
This is not a question of how much money is identified in the national budget for expenditure on education. It has to do with directed investment in science and technology, and research and development to produce goods and services which could attract attention and be competitively produced.
It is not about a Minister of Education boasting about how many CSEC and CAPE passes were achieved and which primary school pupils from which schools have scored close to 100, or having 60 per cent of the secondary school graduates going on to university education. It is about targeted planning and achievement in specific areas of study which hold the possibility of spurring innovation.
Let us take a for instance on this matter. The 2016 Innovation Report finds a measure of slippage in innovation in the United States and here is the reason why: “The US scores lower . . . in expenditures on education, in tertiary education due to its low share of graduates in science and engineering, in energy efficiency, and in economy-wide investment and product.”
The US must surely compete very favourably on the basis of universities and university graduates with the major innovating countries in Europe—which, not too incidentally, top the list of innovators—but it is a question of the focus on the subjects of the study programmes.
“Emerging countries have to invent their future,” is how Bruno Lanvin Executive Director for Global Indices puts it. T&T has two major local universities funded by the government and there are the religious-based University of the Southern Caribbean and a number of other privately-owned and run universities on local soil which are connected to foreign universities.
It would be interesting to find out what percentage of the expenditure at all of these universities, especially UWI and UTT, funded almost exclusively by the state, is focused on science and technology (S&T) and research and development (R&D) to drive innovation.
Absolutely critical would be the percentage of graduate work directed at inventing products and services which could meet local needs and be competitive in the international export market.
We have to reach back to our kindergarten and primary school systems to begin change. There has to be an examination of what our infants are being fed and nourished on—intellectual food, that is—at this very primary level of development.
The culture here is for parents, the home environment and the school system to invest all in having students cram for the SEA exam to “pass” for a prestige school. That has to change, but for there to be any departure from such ingrained habits there must first be change in the system of placing children into secondary school based exclusively on test marks in English and Math as opposed to a curriculum which promotes innovative thinking.
Creative play, art, music, sports and human interaction which can trigger the innovative processes of the mind should be the focus. Efforts have to be made to attract and keep interested young people who are talented outside of the present curriculum.
Spree Simon, Anthony Williams, Neville Jules, Bertie Marshall, Ellie Mannette, Ras Shorty I, Boogsie Sharpe and the local inventor of a sluice gate were not great achievers in school. Having interviewed a few of them about their lives, inventive spirit and works, they had little interest in the school curriculum.
Sparrow says of his school days: “If ah was bright, ah would have been a damn fool.” This is not an argument against children having a quality primary and secondary academic school education. It is saying that the system must be so developed that it truly allows all to partake and the content of the education programme at this tender age must be guided, not by memory learning of existing knowledge and information, but by an induction that allows for the creative impulses to come to the surface.
There is much more to be discussed on this subject and by others. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-28/transforming-thinking-through-education | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/718821590d7ec70ce2198cde3f832fa56ae8888f4a8bf5e8cd0dd37c295c5ce6.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:50:21 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | National Under-21 netball coach Rhonda John-Davis is not thrilled that her team failed to cop the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) title, but is happy that the local side achieved the ultimate goal of progressing to next year’s Netball Y | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-31%2Fcoach-not-happy-second-place.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-4_230.jpg?itok=xzcyEL15 | en | null | Coach not happy with second place | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | National Under-21 netball coach Rhonda John-Davis is not thrilled that her team failed to cop the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) title, but is happy that the local side achieved the ultimate goal of progressing to next year’s Netball Youth World Cup carded to take place in Botswana.
“I am not satisfied with second place finish,” said John-Davis yesterday. “But I am very proud of the girls for qualifying for the World Cup.”
On Sunday in St Maarten, the junior “Calypso Girls” faced off against Barbados in the title decider and came up short, suffering a narrow two-goal (50-48) defeat in an intense encounter which turned out to be the most thrilling match of the seven-team tournament.
“It’s not that they did not play well but crucial errors resulted in the loss. The most important thing though is that we qualified and for that I am proud of them,” said the former national senior captain.
The T&T team, which entered the AFNA Qualifiers as the top seed, ninth in world netball, had a relatively easy ride through the round-robin competition, easily knocking off Canada (69-9) in its opening match, followed by Argentina (87-4), St Maarten (72-12), St Kitts and Nevis (68-35) and Grenada (52-28), respectively.
“We went in there with a very inexperienced team and they stood up to the challenge,” said John-Davis, who was assisted by another former senior national player Kemba Duncan. “They were able to execute the game plan so all in all, I am pleased with the effort they put in.”
The local side was captained by Kalifa McCollin and she was supported by vice-captain Jeneisha Cassimy. Two players which John-Davis declared stood out during the seven-day competition as well as Shaniece Seemungal and Shaquanda Greene.
“Kalifa was on a next level. She did very well leading the team. I must commend Cassimy for her versability on the court. She played every position that was asked of her and she fulfilled all that was required of her. Shaniece performed well in the centre-court and Shaquanda was vital in defence for us.”
McCollin partnered with six-footer Jameela McCathy in the circle and they scored the bulk of T&T’s goals throughout the competition. Overall, McCarthy netted with 149 goals from 173 attempts and McCollin, 98 off 110 tries. Tiana Dillon (42/69) and Tahirah Hollingsworth (38/70) were the other shooters used.
Second-placed T&T, champion Barbados and third-placed Grenada, move on to the World Cup set to unfold in the city of Gaborone. The Caribbean trio will join 11 other teams that have already qualified from New Zealand, Australia, Caribbean neighbour Jamaica, England, host Botswana, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda. Next will be the Oceania Qualifiers next month and finally the European Qualifiers in October.
The quality of teams that T&T will meet in Botswana will of course be at a higher grade and coach John-Davis is quite aware of this.
She said, “We know the level of play at the World Cup will be higher that is expected. The team showed what their strengths are and we used that to our advantage but we know we have work to do.”
Unfortunately, John-Davis will not have the services of some key players as they will be over the age limit come next year for the World U-21 tournament.
“We will not have Kalifa, Jameela and Shaquanda so we definitely have to get to work and see how best we can be ready for the World Cup in Botswana next year,” said the national youth coach.
The players will get some two weeks off to rest and recuperate and will restart training on Septmeber 14 according to John-Davis. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-31/coach-not-happy-second-place | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/1e7cbfb8611ad6fb99f9cb8447a3c1f17917e0c9603dbc71f48310a109631694.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:53 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fpolls%2Fwho-will-you-vote-local-government-elections.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Who will you vote for in the local government elections? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Profit without prosperity? Is this an oxymoron? Of course profit leads to prosperity! Is the sole purpose of the business to generate profits for the shareholders? Does profit alone equate to increased shareholder value?
Avoiding Venezuela’s path Ian Narine
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Will Barbados ever recover? Last week, in this space, under the headline, “Why is Barbados continuing to punish public workers?” the long-standing decision by Barbados to use fiscal policies exclusively to defend its...
Doubtful over a happy ending Two weeks ago, I wrote what I then felt was a story of hope. Or, perhaps, what I then felt was the story that should be told.
Cyon murder suspect in hiding after talk with cops... I did not kill him Following two hits on his life, Marlon Lynch, the man wrongfully accused of killing nine-year-old Cyon Paul yesterday went into hiding after he surrendered to the San Fernando police and was... | http://www.guardian.co.tt/polls/who-will-you-vote-local-government-elections | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/1bf1f90fac459e343f66e69c73c67b709842ec4e345220a32f54d938885dbdfa.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:48:51 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Ordinarily, perhaps in another more cooperative political culture, a call by an opposition leader on the government to come together in a non-partisan manner to counter the number one problem of the country—violent crime— could bring real hope to cit | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Feditorial%2F2016-08-27%2Fgenuine-consultation-crime-needed.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Genuine consultation on crime needed | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Ordinarily, perhaps in another more cooperative political culture, a call by an opposition leader on the government to come together in a non-partisan manner to counter the number one problem of the country—violent crime— could bring real hope to citizens.
However the invitation from Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to meet with her and her team to come up with solutions to the crime raises political cynicism. Why?
There have been several such meetings in the past between government and opposition including when the parties have changed roles as government and opposition. Not much has come out of them, and these fruitless encounters have fuelled cynicism.
And this is so because often the objective of whichever party has been in opposition and is making the call, has been to seek to score political points.
The government would then ignore the proposals made, so the non-partisan initiative falls down.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has accepted in principle the offer of Opposition Leader Mrs Persad-Bissessar with the qualification that he hopes it is not an attempt to gain political mileage.
With the nature of criminality facing the country—a nine-year-old boy caught in the crossfire between criminals—we must demand positive action notwithstanding the record of largely unsuccessful ventures of co-operation in the past. In this respect a few choice words must be said to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Utilisation of all of the national resources to combat this two-decade old scourge should be above all political objectives of the individuals and their parties.
The country must make it known to the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader that the national interests come first—that ordinary citizens cannot continue being hostages in their homes, or in their communities.
The criminals have become brazen and quite open in their activities—almost as of they don’t fear retributive consequences.
They must be made to know that above most else, the safety and security of the country is the job they signed on for as Parliamentarians and as government and opposition.
They must be made to know that whether in government or in opposition, they have the responsibility to frame and pass anti-crime legislation, adopt policies and programmes to combat criminality and they have to answer to public opinion for their joint failures if they fail to co-operate.
In the instance of the Opposition, members must be reminded that but for the last almost 12 months, they did precious little to break the criminal gangs and their culture when they were in government; they therefore are in no position to be without responsibility for what is happening today.
As for Prime Minister Rowley and his government, citizens are aware that during their campaigning for office when in opposition, they had the answers to crime and did not hestitate the criticise the approach of the then-government.
They must remind the Prime Minister of that boast and that the country is now expecting him to fulfill his promises.
There is no sheltered ground, no protected space into which either the Government or the opposition can slip. They must also be reminded of the fact that almost every other aspect of national life, whether it be the economy, our humanity as a people, the state of the medical facilities and all else are contingent upon having peace and security in the society. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/editorial/2016-08-27/genuine-consultation-crime-needed | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/67f925f6ddc4c384ab03a0fcd918ab45c9fffd76f05b6149d77385d45cf7a309.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:53:25 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Another fabulous and appealing sporting spectacle that was Rio 2016 is now behind us. It has left unforgettable memories of Usain Bolt majestically completing his astounding triple triple in the showcase sprint segment, and Michael Phelps adding more | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-26%2Fmanagement-about-personal-glorification.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Management about personal glorification | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Another fabulous and appealing sporting spectacle that was Rio 2016 is now behind us. It has left unforgettable memories of Usain Bolt majestically completing his astounding triple triple in the showcase sprint segment, and Michael Phelps adding more gold to his already bulging bag in his swimming events. We have seen new faces come to the fore and older ones maintaining some level of dominance in their respective events.
Our heroes were undoubtedly Keshorn Walcott, bronze medal winner, Machel Cedenio, who was a part of an historic race and Michelle-Lee Ayhe both of whom give us hope for medals in forthcoming championships.
No praise is too great for their efforts especially when we listened to Keshorn lamenting that there was no unity in our camp (Guardian, August 22). It seems from reports that they did not gel and the team spirit from London was absent in Rio. Which brings me to the management and support personnel who accompanied the athletes to Rio.
If Keshorn is correct, something was amiss. I was enthralled listening to the analyses and assessments of the performances of the athletes by Dr Ian Hypolite but were we, the viewers, thousands of miles away, supposed to be the beneficiaries of his wisdom? Should it instead have gone into the planning for the athletes’ best performance before they competed and not after?
I have the highest regard and respect for Larry Romany but I disagree with his contention (Newsday, August 22) that only the divisional managers are responsible for the welfare of the athletes. I will respectfully withhold opinion on Ms Henderson’s defence of Dr Hypolite’s priorities as she was part of the delegation.
A cursory glance at what Jamaican, Mr Don Anderson, former Chef De Mission of Olympic teams, had to say about the role of the Chef De Mission (Guardian, August 22) exposes the yawning gap between the two camps and its attitude of management and their approaches to athletes. There is too much personal glorification in appointed positions and not enough attention paid to athletes.
Many cries have gone up for our teams to access the Jamaican model in attempt to bring more success to our shores. If others are prepared to share their knowledge with us then we would benefit, however, if we do not change our approach at the team management level and become less self-absorbed we will be unable to lay the true foundation for success.
We must be cognisant of the fact that this Olympics was the first to produce a solely Caribbean feed for our athletes’ exposure. However, our Chef De Mission should not consider being a colour commentator for expert advice as a major responsibility of his portfolio. We should learn that this job should be left to others.
The athletes are the only ones that matter, everyone else must work toward preparing them for success, ensuring a strong and unified group. Then everyone can share in that said success.
William Rodriguez | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-26/management-about-personal-glorification | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f8d18a8819cffc569518ee9ac37eacffd4c24abdf0036abca6a61a855cd66757.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:50 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | This is a letter to the Ministry of Education officials. On Tuesday I went to conduct some business at the MoE Port-of Spain office and was told by the security guard that I would be unable to enter the office because I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. So | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-26%2Fwhat-about-my-right-bare-arms.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | What about my right to bare arms? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | This is a letter to the Ministry of Education officials. On Tuesday I went to conduct some business at the MoE Port-of Spain office and was told by the security guard that I would be unable to enter the office because I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. So of course I was not allowed to see a clerk.
My question to the MoE officials is this: why do I need a garment with a sleeve to speak to a clerk? The security personnel pointed me to sign which states that sleeveless attire was disallowed. The sign was within the building which is against the law as such a sign should be conspicuously lodged on the outside for all the see.
However, the important issue here was why in a tropical country, where the temperature was 32 degrees (that day) do I have to wear a garment with a sleeve to get service?
Where did this policy come from and why such a policy? Will my bare arms affect the clerk’s efficiency? Please clarify. I am baffled!
Rita Le Blanc,
Mayaro | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-26/what-about-my-right-bare-arms | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/7338bbd53f5d9b3e402d71cb664c4b9c263f828caf206f2ff8908120e63a4972.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:50:27 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The daughter of Curt Moses, who was killed by police on Friday night, believes there is an attempt to cover up her father’s killing by the lawmen and this was the reason his body was not taken to the Forensic Science Centre (FSC), St James, yesterday for | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-30%2Fman-shot-dead-cops-during-roadblock.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Man shot dead by cops during roadblock | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The daughter of Curt Moses, who was killed by police on Friday night, believes there is an attempt to cover up her father’s killing by the lawmen and this was the reason his body was not taken to the Forensic Science Centre (FSC), St James, yesterday for an autopsy to be done.
Speaking with the media outside the FSC as she awaited the arrival of her father’s body to be examined, Special Moses said the funeral agency which picked up her father’s body told her they were waiting on police to escort the body to the FSC when asked what the hold-up was. She added that when she attempted to call the number of a police officer who had told her of her father’s death, the number was not in service.
“I got a call that my dad was shot and killed and I visited the Barataria Police Station and they presented me with his ID card and wallet and phone and now telling me they can’t find his body. This is very hard. I would just like to know where his body is at this point in time,” Moses said.
“But no one is telling us anything. I think it is a cover-up. That is my first assumption given all this. I am going to the Police Complaints Authority as soon as I get this sorted out,” she added.
According to police reports, around 11 pm on Friday officers of the North Eastern Division were conducting roadblock exercises when they stopped a white Nissan Tiida along Bridge Road, San Juan.
While the occupants of the car were being searched, Moses, 47, allegedly ran off. He was pursued. Police said while running he pointed a gun at them and they fired back, hitting him the second time they fired.
Moses, of Second Caledonia, Morvant, was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he died while being treated. ASP Ramkelewan is continuing investigations.
Speaking about her father yesterday, Special, the first-born of his ten children, said: “My dad was a very colourful person, loved by a lot and hated by a few, but that is no motive for police to kill him. He was a tradesman and yes he was arrested in the past but for marijuana not for gun or ammunition or anything like that.”
She added that from what she was told her father surrendered to police with the other occupants of the car and did not run away as was being claimed.
Head of the division, Snr Supt Surendra Sagramsingh, in a telephone response, denied his officers were covering up anything, adding that the autopsy will find the cause of death. He added that he understood the family was distraught but said he would not allow his officers to cover up anything in the case.
In an unrelated police shooting, officers of the Inter Agency Task Force arrested a 31-year-old man on Sunday after he pointed a gun at them when they went to his home to execute a search warrant.
According to police, the man was seen at his home at Trou Macaque, Laventille, around 4.45 pm but as officers approached, the man pulled out a gun and pointed it in their direction. The officers fired at the man, hitting him in the right arm. A .22 pistol and one round of .40 ammunition were allegedly found on him. The man was subsequently taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Police said he was a suspect in several shootings, murders and other gun-related offences. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-30/man-shot-dead-cops-during-roadblock | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9eec8ae4d76eafaaaf22ce194088de7d36a5c69bb141352cad113d0102bce0a8.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:18 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Two weeks ago, I wrote what I then felt was a story of hope. Or, perhaps, what I then felt was the story that should be told. Everyone involved, from the neighbours to the Rotary Club members who were assisting, to the woman and her children, were | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-26%2Fdoubtful-over-happy-ending.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Gabrielle%20Hosein_76.jpg?itok=ajX46UKe | en | null | Doubtful over a happy ending | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Two weeks ago, I wrote what I then felt was a story of hope. Or, perhaps, what I then felt was the story that should be told. Everyone involved, from the neighbours to the Rotary Club members who were assisting, to the woman and her children, were talking about the chance for a happy ending.
I had my doubts. Having been defeated over years, women leaving batterers often return several times before ever permanently escaping abusive relationships. And, battered women tend to be at high risk of being killed when they do finally decide not to go back, creating great fear about trying to permanently leave.
Women also face endless harassment from their abusers during the process of leaving itself: repetitive calls to their phone day and night as well as demands, guilt, blame, manipulation, pressure and promises. Familiar with such harassment, women may feed this pattern, perhaps because they feel incapable of moving ahead on their own.
I had other hesitations, what if this woman couldn’t manage the stress of caring for seven children by herself, even with charitable help for an apartment and living costs? Could she heal enough to re-establish clear thought, good decision-making and secure self-esteem if, in the end, she never received sustained counselling? In this likely scenario, would the children heal as they should or just endure, perhaps repeating a dysfunctional cycle in their own lives as they grew?
I write again about this real life story, which I suspected wouldn’t so simply unfold. There’s an eighth child due in a few months, following a failed termination, and the woman remains a heavy smoker, though when I took her to hospital last week the doctors said that it was affecting her heart and breathing. She left the apartment secured for her and has taken the children with her back to their father. She and the children remain at risk of various levels and kinds of abuse.
The clothes and other items they received from public help are at risk of being sold to pay for their father’s drug addiction. They can tell you where drug blocks are. All the children there are at risk of being involved in stealing, with parental knowledge, to survive.
The neighbours have been pushed away, for the woman felt that they were too much in her business. She’s threatened them harm if her children are taken away by authorities, and, fed up, her neighbours are resorting to responses we know so well: “she must like the licks,” “she wants the children so people will provide charity,” “there is nothing more we can do.”
Right now, they wait impatiently for the Children’s Authority to remove the children from the room where they again now live, all of them sharing two beds, the oldest complaining of cockroaches. There’s a home where the children can be sent together, but it’s the authorities who have to exercise that decision-making power, and they need to do it sooner rather than later.
One older boy, who has had to look after the younger siblings when both parents are not there in the day or at night, starts to cry when he talks about the situation, his feelings of frustration and powerlessness clear, for the adults whom he loves who will not do what is right.
Every day those children are around such neglect of their needs counts. How many days until their situation changes? What does a happy ending for them mean? How can we help make that possible?
Before we resort to the single narrative of woman-blame, we should remember that daily, professional, even over-the-phone, crisis counseling for a woman trying to leave a long-term abusive relationship is not accessible, making the messiness of this current outcome much more likely.
Even if a good shelter takes in all the children, they are unlikely to ever receive the extent of counseling they too need. Both batterers and victims have often grown up in abusive homes, and in one way or another repeat details learned through socialisation to violence. Crucially, our social services are completely unable to cope.
This is one story, of thousands, across the country. Today it is told with more uncertainty than hope.
Dr Gabrielle Hosein is Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies, UWI, St Augustine campus. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-26/doubtful-over-happy-ending | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/afbdf2c528c88d625b0666f646819c5fa307fdbe69d8d2f253d60113cee58ca3.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:51:04 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Wrecking in the city of San Fernando has been temporarily suspended but indiscriminate drivers are being warned that they will be ticketed by police if they break the law.
San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein made the announcement yesterday during the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-31%2Fsouth-mayor-suspends-wrecking.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | South Mayor suspends wrecking | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Wrecking in the city of San Fernando has been temporarily suspended but indiscriminate drivers are being warned that they will be ticketed by police if they break the law.
San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein made the announcement yesterday during the corporation’s monthly statutory meeting.
Addressing the council, Hosein said: “I have observed the wrecking system and it is a failure. I know the people of San Fernando have always adhered to our calls to uphold the law but if I cease wrecking in the city I will ask our people to park properly.”
He said recently on Crichlow Street, a resident parked his car in front of his home and it was wrecked.
“You have to be more humane and exercise discretion and I think this is not the case because the wrecking service has failed,” Hosein added.
He also said free parking would be provided at Lady Hailes Avenue and a shuttle would carry shoppers into the city.
“Some people are saying why the city doesn’t charge for parking but in life not everything is about money,” Hosein said.
He said a meeting would be arranged with officials from the San Fernando police to discuss the issue.
But acting ASP Sharon Sampson-Remy told the council if someone parked in a no-parking zone, even if it was in front of their homes, they would be wrecked.
She also said that the municipal police officers would be on patrol to identify drivers who park in no-parking zones.
The motion to suspend wrecking for the next few months, effective tomorrow, was passed unanimously.
Business group pleased
President of the San Fernando Business Association, Daphne Bartlett, said yesterday she supported the move but said traffic wardens and police officers should not ticket shoppers who may stop to make a quick purchase or use the ATM.
“I think they should observe and if someone stays longer than half-an-hour then they should be given a ticket,” Bartlett said.
Currently there is no inner city wrecking because San Fernando does not have a public car park and Bartlett said delivery drivers were given half-an-hour to drop off goods.
“I think that arrangement should remain. Also when the mayor says he doesn’t want people to break the law, I want him to take a walk on High Street and Mucurapo Street and see hundreds of people breaking the law,” Bartlett said, in obvious reference to illegal street vendors.
She applauded the mayor’s efforts and said everyone should work together to stop crime and traffic congestion in the city. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-31/south-mayor-suspends-wrecking | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/046a456c6760f32fb0ae1e5214e0a8739b358f957314103ce17efb0d19043395.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:50:49 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | “The former prime minister noted that this country climbed in terms of global ranking because of the laptop programme.” Please, someone, tell me, is that a reason to spend taxpayers’ money wantonly and distribute laptops haphazardly?
That programme was a | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-30%2Fhaphazard-laptop-plan-finally-ended.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Haphazard laptop plan finally ended | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | “The former prime minister noted that this country climbed in terms of global ranking because of the laptop programme.” Please, someone, tell me, is that a reason to spend taxpayers’ money wantonly and distribute laptops haphazardly?
That programme was a colossal waste of resources done with the chief aim of garnering political support. It was a populist move and another of the excesses and vanity projects of that government. Had the former maladministration consulted with the IT technicians and teachers, a vastly different, meaningful approach would have been adopted. But then again that would not float someone’s boat.
We have a political culture whereby intent and actions are justified because other countries have done so. A copycat, knee jerk system! The distribution of laptops should have been done on a needs basis. That could have been ascertained quite easily on registration day. There is also a downside to that because in many instances the needy ones do not have access to the Internet at home. Be that as it may, the next logical step was to expand and upgrade the IT rooms. Also, there was a need for all classrooms to be WIFI compliant. Did those things happen?
I can testify without the fear of contradiction to the abuse and misuse of the computers. In spite of all the safeguards built and added into the computers, students were still able to bypass same and load unto their computers all manner of obscenities, games etc.
And you know what—the students who did those things already had computers at home! I am in full support of the ministry’s change in policy and we all look forward to a more enhanced, efficient and effective programme that would redound to the ultimate benefit of the students.
Sahadeo Ragoonanan,
Princes Town | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-30/haphazard-laptop-plan-finally-ended | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/06a619bf56fc829c7dd2147e195ddc592147e4cc467b65ce46852b1b1a47564c.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:51:22 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | As we celebrate 54 years of Independence today, let us all be certain we know that talk is cheap!
Talking is for pretenders!
It is time for action, where words mean nothing if we cannot substantiate it with the appropriate action and momentum that will | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-31%2Fred-friday%25E2%2580%2599s-colour.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Andre%20E%20Baptiste_35.jpg?itok=ysUaq5WO | en | null | Red: Friday’s colour | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | As we celebrate 54 years of Independence today, let us all be certain we know that talk is cheap!
Talking is for pretenders!
It is time for action, where words mean nothing if we cannot substantiate it with the appropriate action and momentum that will give true meaning to the word “Support.”
As a people that talk a lot and are always quick to kick our athletes when they are down, it is time for every citizen to demonstrate that they care about our national teams by spending their own money and attending the very important football match against Guatemala on Friday.
Our Soca Warriors lead the group with 10 points from USA (7 points), Guatemala (6 points). We need only a draw, but after the experiences of November 1989 and December 2014, the nerves will be tingling.
Guatemala media have already issued a do or die cry so their team, having already arrived early for the encounter, are seeking to entrench in their minds the will to succeed. Information from the Guatemalan media suggests there is a strong belief that there is no home advantage for T&T, based on previous results and the passive nature of the home supporters.
As T&T’s captain Kenwyne Jones said on Isports Saturday on i95.5fm: “The cost of tickets to this match is less than the cost of a boat ride.”
It was a damning comment, as truthful as it was sincere, as biting as it was realistic and as telling as it was honest. In this country, people will pay $3,000 to play mas or to buy two tickets for an all inclusive fete. But with ticket prices at $150 (uncovered) and $300 (covered), we are hearing of persons who can afford asking for complementaries or free tickets. This is just wrong. It is time we forget about this freeness attitude and focus on being patriotic.
So what Jones is asking is that as a man, as a woman, as a child, as a citizen, stand up and be counted in this march to Russia 2018. How many of us can remember the pleasure of 2006 in Germany and the feeling of pride when your national anthem was played. It did not matter which part of T&T you were from, everyone was proud that day.
So there is a strong belief that coach Stephen Hart, this wise and experienced tactician, has a plan for Guatemala, who appear to be quite “cocky” and upbeat, given their run of good form. In that regard, we need the entire T&T squad to be focussed, including those players not selected on the starting eleven .
Honestly, given the current mood in the country and the lack of enthusiasm that has permeated whether through social, political or financial issues, T&T needs to exhale and this time with a concerted and united smile. A full stadium is not an option. It must be a certainty and we must demand of each other the assurances required to maintain that momentum all the way through to our next match against the USA on September 6.
Guatemalan spies arrived here over two weeks ago, flying from the USA and other venues. One hopes that the immigration authorities would be vigilant of this, given the number of Spanish speaking persons that appear to arrive here everyday. On our return flight from Brazil, via Panama, 3/4 of the aircraft was filled with non residents and on my previous trips from South America, I witnessed similar numbers. I understand that many are coming through Miami but whatever it is the Guatemalan officials were here and did their independent work and observed everything from the mood of the country to the playing surfaces and even hotels. We must learn to be as competitive. This sometimes makes the difference between winning and losing.
As we look ahead to Friday, let us all not only wear “Red” on the outside but also on the inside, with true pride and let the foreigners understand that this is our culture, our way and they will have to learn it the hard way on Friday and beyond. It may not be pretty when there is so much on the line and so much at stake. For Guatemala, nothing but a win will ensure they move into the round of six. This makes them especially dangerous.
We can expect the Central Americans to come out full steam and throw everything, looking for that early goal to upset the flow of the national team and quiet the home fans. So a testing time is ahead for the Warriors. They must expect such and hopefully will be ready.
Scoring first is critical and if the Warriors can do this, it will force Guatemala to take more chances which could lead to more goals.
It is going to be a most defining game for several on both teams, with not only careers, but positions and pride at stake .
So let us find our voice on Friday and support your team in “RED”, the Soca Warriors. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-31/red-friday%E2%80%99s-colour | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/eb848c4ccd17de36c0ef6d4baf815f43dd7312d26eeb445a506204b21b8ba1dd.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:50:34 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | If there’s a small upside to the runaway violence in Trinidad and Tobago in which murders have topped 300 in only 242 days this year, (read latest murder/suicide on page 5) it is that one such fatal shooting ended up saving two other lives. A man had b | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-28%2Flife-changing-potential-organ-donations.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/gift%20of%20life.jpg?itok=i10nqFpC | en | null | Life changing potential of organ donations | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | If there’s a small upside to the runaway violence in Trinidad and Tobago in which murders have topped 300 in only 242 days this year, (read latest murder/suicide on page 5) it is that one such fatal shooting ended up saving two other lives. A man had been fatally shot once to the head but there was no damage to his internal organs. His kidneys were eventually donated to patients in dire need of the organs.
The dead donor effectively saved two lives and his family in the midst of their own grief found solace in the fact that their relative was able to live on in others.
This was a firsthand example that pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov yesterday gave to the T&T Guardian to bolster his view that there must be “absolutely” more organ donors in this country.
In response to concerns that people could be targeted for their organs the Ministry of Health’s National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) stated it must be noted that it is illegal to sell organs in this country.
Recipients for kidneys from dead donors are chosen through a matching system which selects and matches people based on compatibility criteria.
“This includes blood group, organ size, serology status, urgency and waiting time,” the NOTU stated.
Recognising that it may be possible for rich, or better connected people, to enjoy greater access to donated organs than others, NOTU said “a person’s wealth cannot sway or impact the eventual decision.”
Guardian campaign
Guardian Media Ltd on Sunday launched a campaign to promote public awareness of organ donation and transplant with the aim of encouraging citizens to augment this country’s donor pool.
The NOTU has been in operation since 2006 and has done 155 kidney transplants in this country.
Twenty-six people have received kidneys from dead donors.
There are 101 people on the NOTU’S waiting list.
Many others have enquired about being on the donor waiting logistics but have not supplied all the necessary information.
Approximately 500 nationals are in need of kidney transplants and that number grows by approximately 40 every year with a “very large number” of people dying annually while waiting.
Alexandrov said diabetes is one of the main diseases affecting this country and kidney problems is one of the issues that arises out of this.
As a result of this, he said, more donors need to come forward.
“It has not been very often I have been involved in signing the consent forms for donors because for whatever reason. I believe the moral obstacles of family members need to be overcome,” Alexandrov said.
“There is the issue of propaganda which may cause people not to understand what organ donation entails. But people need to understand exactly how important it is to become donors,” he said.
Religious and burial customs
Religion and burial rites and customs are an often unseen aspect of organ donation. The NOTU said one concern that people tend to raise is the question of whether donation would disfigure their bodies and prevent an open casket funeral if they decide to become a donor.
The NOTU stated that organ donation is “similar to surgery”.
“There will be no disfigurement to a donor’s body. Like surgery, all incisions are closed, and you can have an open casket,” the NOTU stated.
Head of the Inter-Religious Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago Bro Harrypersad Maharaj said he had “no objection” with individuals donating their organs.
Maharaj said however it must be an individual decision.
“Some people believe that every part of their body should be used and even when they die I know there are people who would tell their relations that if people want my kidney it should be used. It is a personal decision,” Maharaj said.
“We know it is something that is very important. In Hinduism in particular they believe in karma or good action and if you could even do a good action when you die then it would be a very beneficial thing,” he said.
“I have absolutely no objection to organ donation. If the person is alive it has, of course, to be their conscious wish. It should not be something that is forced about a person. And if that person also has the wish that if they pass on and their organs are intact and they want to donate it then it should also be done. I have no problem with that,” he said.
Maharaj said a benefit for people considering organ donation is that it may actually encourage people to live a healthier lifestyle. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-28/life-changing-potential-organ-donations | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/640c8bd2cc65ad3f9ab9484dc00d58179adbb9a00a6ddc246d612c0c03575e5f.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T10:50:00 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | England-born Andre Boucaud of Dagenham & Redbridge has called on his teammates in the Stephen Hart-coached Soca Warriors to avoid the encounter getting the better of them if they wish to move into the Concacaf hexagonal final round.
Boucaud was | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-30%2Fsettle-early-boucaud-warns-soca-warriors-teammates.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-1_342.jpg?itok=18BPBk12 | en | null | Settle Early: Boucaud warns Soca Warriors teammates | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | England-born Andre Boucaud of Dagenham & Redbridge has called on his teammates in the Stephen Hart-coached Soca Warriors to avoid the encounter getting the better of them if they wish to move into the Concacaf hexagonal final round.
Boucaud was speaking after yesterday’s morning training session at Mucurapo.
It was the first session for most of the 24-man squad as the live-in camp kicked off under overcast skies and included a number of other overseas-based players in US-based quartet Mekeil Williams (Colorado Rapids), Aubrey David (Dallas FC), Trevin Caesar (Orange County) and Kevan George (Jacksonville Armada); Mexican-based trio Yohance Marshall, Jomal Williams and Shahdon Winchester, Radanfah Abu Bakr (Estonia), Carlyle Mitchell (South Korea), new call, goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh (USA), Navael Hackshaw (USA), Khaleem Hyland (Belgium), and the local quintet of Adrian Foncette, Marvin Phillip, captain Kenwyne Jones, Daneil Cyrus and Hughtun Hector.
The rest of the squad inclusive of US Major League Soccer pair, Joevin Jones (Seattle Sounders), and Kevin Molino (Orlando City), John Bostock (France), Levi Garcia (Holland), Cordell Cato (USA) and Sheldon Bateau (Russia) were expected in by yesterday afternoon.
“It’s a massive game and everybody knows the importance. I believe if we do what we were doing in the other qualifying games prior to the last three friendlies, we will get the result that we need,” Boucaud said.
“I’ve been playing a lot of games in England on Saturdays and Tuesdays. My team is doing pretty good as we are top of the League at the moment and I’m feeling pretty fit and ready at the moment,” he added.
Boucaud said the past two wins over Guatemala were history, but he does not think T&T needs to change its game approach.
“I think the key would be sticking together and not playing the occasion…we need to play the game as is.
“We all know it’s a big game but I think if we focus on our game and how we are accustomed doing things, sticking together and pull off the result that we can, we’ll be fine on Friday,” Boucaud added.
Midfielder Kevan George, who missed T&T’s last five matches is anticipating a quick start from Guatemala. George says physically he’s in top shape at the moment
“It’s the best feeling in the world to play regularly for your team, and starting and playing 90 minutes. I feel like I’m in the shape of my professional life and I’m happy to be back in the national squad.” George said.
T&T squad
Goalkeepers: Marvin Phillip (Morvant Caledonia AIA), Greg Ranjitsingh (Louisville City FC), Adrian Foncette (Police FC). Defenders: Aubrey David (Dallas FC), Radanfah Abu Bakr (JK Silame Kalev), Sheldon Bateau (FC Krylia Sovetov), Carlyle Mitchell (Seoul E-Land FC), Daneil Cyrus (W Connection FC), Yohance Marshall (Murcielagos FC), Mekeil Williams (Colorado Rapids). Midfielders: Joevin Jones (Seattle Sounders), Andre Boucaud (Dagenham & Redbridge), Hughtun Hector (W Connection FC), John Bostock (Racing Lens), Levi Garcia (AZ Almaar), Kevin Molino (Orlando City), Khaleem Hyland (KVC Westerlo), Neveal Hackshaw (Charleston Battery), Jomal Williams (Murciealagos FC), Kevan George (Jacksonville Armada FC). Forwards: Trevin Caesar (Orange County FC), Shahdon Winchester (Murciealagos FC), Cordell Cato (San Jose Earthquakes), Kenwyne Jones (Central FC) | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-30/settle-early-boucaud-warns-soca-warriors-teammates | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/2cd4cf1ac94dcbf8410c611b93c0c5fe770cbbb0bebdab6f7062fc5776f9660e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:49:35 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Team T&T returned from Brazil with one bronze medal thanks to Keshorn Walcott. Things did not work out but at least we did not return empty-handed. Life can be difficult, complex and cruel at times. Maybe it was not meant to be.
All of T&T was | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-29%2Fkeshorn-still-among-best-world.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Keshorn still among best in the world | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Team T&T returned from Brazil with one bronze medal thanks to Keshorn Walcott. Things did not work out but at least we did not return empty-handed. Life can be difficult, complex and cruel at times. Maybe it was not meant to be.
All of T&T was united during the Olympic Games. Sport has a way of bringing people together. Here is where the politicians have failed dismally.
After Keshorn’s gold, he could not improve, only maintain. The bronze implies he is still among the best in the world. Keshorn is 23 years old, he has many throws left in him. He was the first Caribbean male athlete to win the gold medal in a throwing event in the history of the Olympics. I spoke with him, a very humble individual.
It is imperative we have foreign coaches and access to training facilities abroad.
The rest of the Olympic contingent is relatively young, they have a future.
Training methods are never static, they are always improving. We must be exposed to the best. Running around the National Stadium is not the way to go. We need an athletic academy. Start them from very young. I told my Jamaican brother, Santokie, that they can run fast, but we can pelt and throw. If they can do it, so can and will we.
To our returning team, thanks, we know you tried your best.
Let us avoid the scandal and bacchanal. Everyone loves a winner.
We do not expect a winning team, we demand one.
Let us rest and recuperate. The summer Olympics are from July 24 to August 9, 2020. There is much work to be done. Let us get it on.
AV Rampersad
Princes Town | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-29/keshorn-still-among-best-world | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/e63726ca8137d1de9f609a96fc141a41aca15d03d4e863999955c41d211939c6.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:49:43 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | T&T has a major problem with homelessness and all it takes is a casual walk through the streets of Port-of-Spain to see the extent of the problem. It is virtually impossible to walk along a block without encountering one of the estimated 300 pavement | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-28%2Fcapital-losing-battle-against-street-dwelling.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/HOMELESS_0.jpg?itok=uPkLEWJL | en | null | Capital losing the battle against street-dwelling | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | T&T has a major problem with homelessness and all it takes is a casual walk through the streets of Port-of-Spain to see the extent of the problem. It is virtually impossible to walk along a block without encountering one of the estimated 300 pavement dwellers in the city.
The problem isn’t limited to the nation’s capital and vagrants are known to populate sidewalks, squares and other open spaces in most of the country’s urban centre.
Although there have been efforts to clear them off the streets and provide medical and other types of support, these have been unsuccessful.
The extent of the problem and the futility of efforts to resolve it can be clearly seen at the Centre for Socially-Displaced People (CSDP) at Riverside Plaza, Port-of-Spain. In operation since June 1991, the facility currently houses 115 people, including drug addicts, the elderly, mentally ill and people who are HIV positive.
Originally set up to assist homeless people find beds at nights, take a bath, and have meal, the centre currently houses an unknown number of long-term residents.
The challenge, CSDP manager Roger Watson told the Guardian, is finding low-cost housing for those residents who are ready to reintegrate into society.
“There is nothing outside there when they leave here,” he said.
The CSDP is located on the first floor of the Riverside Plaza car park, next to the lower portion of the East Dry River.
Just getting into the facility requires walking past scores of vagrants—not residents of the CSDP—who frequent the area, littering the compound with the piles of cardboard, discarded mattresses and garbage they use for their makeshift shelters.
Watson said the area is a haven for drug addicts. However, there is a semblance of order inside. Residents are not only supplied with meals and shelter, but benefit from a range of training programmes and workshops.
He said some residents, once they are fit enough, leave the CSDP and return to their families and communities, but regularly return for meals “because they have nothing to eat at home.”
Angelo’s story
One of the residents, Angelo Joseph, 60, who lost his sight due to glaucoma, longs to find a place to rent so he can live their with his three small children—five-year-old twins and an eight-year-old also live in a home for the displaced.
“Their mother left me. They were with me until I lost my sight,” he said.
One of the new arrivals at the facility is a woman who appears to be suffering from Alzheimers and cannot remember her address or identity. She was found wandering around in Woodbrook and was brought to the facility by the police.
However, the CSDP residents account for only a small portion of the homeless in Port-of-Spain and social workers and others who say the numbers of those out on the streets is increasing. They include children as young as ten years old, ex-convicts, and drug addicts.
“Places are few and the population that is becoming homeless is growing,” one social worker said. “A lot them head into Port-of-Spain and gravitate to centres where there are drugs and alcohol.”
The picture in Central
In Chaguanas, apart from occupying pavements in the main shopping areas, the socially displaced have also taken over other open space. Parbatee Gosingh lives under the Chaguanas flyover.
A street vendor, who identified himself as a former homeless person, spoke with the T&T Guardian as he sold soft drinks, candy, cigarettes and racks of DVDs on the Chaguanas Main Road.
“I feel the government suppose to do more. I used to live on the streets of Sangre Grande. People does run them, but I only run them when they smelling bad and thing,” said the man who did not want to give his name as he counted money leaning against a wall that smelled of urine.
Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan said the brough did not have a major problem with the homeless.
“In the last six to eight months, there were a few around the town centre and most of the times they appear and disappear. We continue to do beautification in areas and now as it is lit they have disappeared,” he said.
Relief by Christmas?
Boodhan’s Port of Spain counterpart Keron Valentine said the City Corporation plans to address the homeless situation before Christmas this year. He has been meeting s with Minister of Social Development and Family Services Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn about the problem.
“Come mid-September we will have a head count of the number of homeless in the city and we will meet again to assess who is drug-dependent, who is a deportee and who is socially displaced,” he said.
“My target is to have some ease by Christmas.”
Crichlow-Cockburn said street dwelling has become a major issue, particularly in Port of Spain.
She wants to bring together anumber of agancies -- the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, the Port of Spain City Corporation and the Ministry of Health -- to try jointly to ease the problem.
The aim, the said is to “assess, rehabilitate and reintegrate the street dwellers into mainstream society.”
Jobs on the street
Many of the homeless get by with meals provided by good samaritans, or doing odd jobs around the city
Mini mart owner Onicca Hackett said she usually hires street dwellers to help her transport goods to her business place.
“They don’t really interfere unless they really mad. Generally I never notice any of them getting violent,” she said.
Hackett said that that one of the men whose services she uses he takes his medication on a regular basis.
However, not everyone is as accommodating. Bobby Kanhai, a doubles vendor, complained that scores of them stand near his stall begging customers.
“They can’t come around me though,” he declared. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-28/capital-losing-battle-against-street-dwelling | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f1243bd46a4a6559bf885dec02fde72a0b001c27aab00b2e0bc2ddccbb3d28be.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcovers%2Ffriday-26th-august-2016.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Friday 26th August, 2016 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | “Whoever took his life has to pay and they will pay very soon.”
Those were the words of a man said to be like a grandfather to nine-year-old Cyon Paul during his funeral yesterday. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/covers/friday-26th-august-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/62a14ab0e54979c54970ee1ebea79b0b9b695f4ea95c1f2a51c6cf77ba8f169d.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:50:56 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Complaints about the health system seem to be increasing every day. Tearful stories are emanating from the daily experience at all of the country’s hospitals. Good reports are few and far between. Complaints cover long waits for critical surgery, i | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-29%2Fnational-health-insurance-plan-can-ease-chaos.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | National health insurance plan can ease chaos | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Complaints about the health system seem to be increasing every day. Tearful stories are emanating from the daily experience at all of the country’s hospitals. Good reports are few and far between. Complaints cover long waits for critical surgery, inability to see doctors, lack of medical skills, unavailability of drugs, non-functioning equipment, shortage of surgical materials, medical incompetence, shortage of beds, rude and unsympathetic nurses,etc. The list can go on and on.
The disenchantment is turning to anger in the face of inadequate responses and failure to deal with simple problems. Maladministration provides only part of the explanation. The whole health structure and the underlying philosophy are in need of revamping given the increasingly complex demands being made of the system. There is a skills and training deficit in almost every area. Some people should not be working in a hospital.
Over the last few weeks I had reason to visit the Mount Hope Hospital on a regular basis, mainly to observe the progress of the Wallerfield racing accident victims.
I wondered what the future held for these young people who looked like they came from a war zone in Syria. As I reviewed the videos of the accident, I also wondered how could a group of people in their right minds contrive such a death trap as a centre for amusement. I also wondered how could officialdom sanction a complex masquerading as a theatre for entertainment and yet be so fundamentally deficient in basic safety measures. Who is responsible for the public’s safety? The answers must come. We have a ringside seat to see how public decisions are made.
Mount Hope was intended to be a high-tech efficiently-functioning institution. My interaction with doctors, nurses, support staff and patients tells me that many of the complaints are well founded. Don’t get me wrong. There are some dedicated personnel who work under difficult circumstances, and in unguarded moments will tell you about the unprofessional environment, the endemic indiscipline, the lack of common courtesy and the absence of management systems.
In one ward not a single fan was working. Call buttons which patients use to summon help were not functioning. The adjustment systems in many beds seemed to have died. For heaven’s sake, these things are not difficult to fix. The shortage of drugs and materials may be related to the untimely release of funds, but where is the maintenance capacity? Who appoints the hospital manager?
The Minister of Health has to take responsibility for overall governance but doesn’t have to run the hospital on a daily basis. Does anybody ever get fired for non performance? I am told yes, but it is the hardworking competent ones who are given the boot, particularly if they are foreign. It is easy to understand why institutions, like countries, fail. Nobody is responsible for anything.
People pay taxes in return for certain public services. Many who pay taxes still prefer to go to private institutions because of the poor quality of public health care, or because the service they require is not available in the public hospitals for one reason or another.
Private insurance arrangements have saved the lives of many. But not every one can afford them. Lower income people, retirees and pensioners depend heavily on the highly-subsidised public health care system because they can’t afford private facilities. They take what they get and complain.
The growing population is putting increasing pressure on a creaking and demoralised system. But it is not only the population; it is the level of crime, poor health lifestyle, accidents and a range of other factors.
Over the years, all governments in this country have invested heavily in education and health. The annual financial allocation to health as a proportion of GDP compares well with most middle income developing countries. The question to be answered is why has the return not been forthcoming. We probably get back about 25 to 50 per cent of each dollar spent.
It is not how much we spend but the effectiveness of the spending that counts. We have developed the unsavoury habit of throwing good money after problems instead of dealing with causes. It does not make sense giving up scarce resources for services that are not forthcoming.
In a real sense the so-called “free” health service is a myth. Given the amount of money being spent on training, why is the country so depleted of trained people in many fields? Why is it you can’t get an ambulance when you need one? Why are family members given a list of items to purchase when a member is admitted to the hospital? Why are so many special-needs children always in the public eye seeking assistance? There is clearly a need for a fundamental intervention. I will address one approach for relieving the growing chaos in the health system.
I am suggesting here the establishment of a national health insurance plan (NHIP) which is not a new nor original idea. There are different models with different kinds of controls and accommodations. We should have had one in place since independence. Instead, efforts were made to patch up a dysfunctional system completely dependent on central government finance and bureaucrats with little experience in running a hospital.
The NHIP would be a contributory plan drawing on the resources of both participants and the government. The present Health Surcharge has no direct relationship to health care. Special arrangements can be made for the poor and indigent. The contribution to the plan can be made tax deductible.
The NHIP would remove the pressure on the present health care system which can be remodelled to cater for a smaller number. Participants would be free to choose their hospitals and their doctors, and acquire such drugs and services that they need with reimbursement coming from the plan.
This arrangement would obviate the need to go to a public hospital and sit on a hard bench for a whole day, or wait two years for an appointment for a simple operation which may never materialise. This plan would remove the humiliation human beings now undergo on a daily basis.
Those who see this innovation as simply a new tax probably have no idea about the cost of private health care. A cataract surgery, for instance, could cost $15,000. Brain or heart surgery could take you over $100,000.
This so-called free system we have inherited is fast breaking down. CDAP was well intentioned, but questions surrounding the quality of many of the drugs, financial problems and the unreliability of supplies have undermined the programme.
Pensions are not being used to buy food. Lifesaving drugs are the first call, and the price of drugs and imported food are increasing everyday with the depreciation of the exchange rate. The clinics of all eye doctors are filled on a daily basis. This is only one aspect of the supply/demand equation.
It seems we not only need a hospital for children, we need one for old and handicapped people as well—people who have given their life for the development of the country. The problem of development is a problem of efficient resource use.
Ramesh F Ramsaran
Professor Emeritus | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-29/national-health-insurance-plan-can-ease-chaos | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f21dc5298d5754f30a4d6ba507f8322db853f54d2113d2ddbd54744c8cf84f08.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:50:39 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | With Trinidad and Tobago celebrating its 54th anniversary of independence, we must look back to cherish the many wonderful aspects of our country.
We have inherited this beautiful land from our ancestors, a land filled with festivities, culture, nature | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-30%2Fmuch-celebrate-54-years.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Much to celebrate in 54 years | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | With Trinidad and Tobago celebrating its 54th anniversary of independence, we must look back to cherish the many wonderful aspects of our country.
We have inherited this beautiful land from our ancestors, a land filled with festivities, culture, nature and beauty. We have seen both great times and bad times as a nation. We have seen our flag of red, white and black flown high at the FIFA World Cup in Germany and at many Olympic Games. We play host to one of the greatest events on earth, Carnival, and many cultural events which all represent our heritage. Our beautiful beaches, waterfalls and rain forest are special gifts given to our country which we must aim to preserve. Our night life is like no other, with places like Ariapita Avenue and St James home to many nightclubs, pubs and restaurants. We have overcome a failed coup attempt in 1990 which marked the most tragic event in the history of our country.
It is my belief that we will one day overcome the current crime and economic crisis that our nation is faced with and we can hopefully go back to being a peaceful nation. We are the future of this beautiful country and the things we do today will set the tone for our future. In everything we do we must represent the red, white and black, we must respect the foundation and elements which make this country great. Whatever obstacles we may face we shall overcome together and whatever achievements we obtain we will celebrate together as a family of Trinbagonians.
Happy Independence Trinidad and Tobago.
Daniel Bertie,
Glencoe | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-30/much-celebrate-54-years | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9aa35fd9a1bb7affa34344459e5b831db06a497b76ba3effbbe790b7b11c3fbd.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:48:29 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The luck of the stars was with a 22-year-old PH taxi driver yesterday, after he survived being tied up, beaten, stabbed and being thrown off a cliff in a forested area at the Heights of Aripo.
Nershan Persad was in a stable condition at the Eric Williams | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fvillagers-rescue-ph-driver-after-bloody-hijacking.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Villagers rescue PH driver after bloody hijacking | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The luck of the stars was with a 22-year-old PH taxi driver yesterday, after he survived being tied up, beaten, stabbed and being thrown off a cliff in a forested area at the Heights of Aripo.
Nershan Persad was in a stable condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), Mt Hope, last night, after a jogger had earlier heard his screams around 6 am and alerted villagers.
The man was subsequently rescued by villagers and rushed to the Arima Health Facility, where he was treated and transferred to the EWMSC.
According to police, around 8.30 pm on Thursday night, Persad, of Warden Road, Sangre Chiquito, was hired by three men to take them to Aripo Village. En route, the trio stopped and took up another man at Damarie Hill, Guaico. Soon after, the four men ordered Persad to take them to a house at Antigua Road, Wallerfield, where they beat him and then took him to a forested area at the Heights of Aripo.
At Heights of Aripo, the men tied Persad's hands and feet, again beat him, then stabbed him in his neck. They then threw him down a 49-foot cliff and left him for dead. The four men left in Persad's car.
Early yesterday, a jogger was attracted by Persad’s cries for help. The jogger returned with villagers who found him still tied up and bleeding heavily.
A party of police, led by Snr Supt John Trim, Supt Phillip, ASPs Robain and Joseph and Sgt Christopher Fuentes, of Sangre Grande Police Station, visited the scene and conducted inquiries.
Early yesterday, a man was seen driving the victim’s vehicle at Melajo Village, Vega De Oropouche, by police. He was arrested after a chase by the police.
The man was interrogated by Sgt Fuentes, of Sangre Grande CID, and this led to the arrest of three other men, yesterday. All four suspects were detained at the station last night. Fuentes is continuing inquiries. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/villagers-rescue-ph-driver-after-bloody-hijacking | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/e452b5a6c648b500cfd43d6784782c4aa9597c61a8bcf4f88e530f9010414445.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T02:48:57 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | On a Sunday morning in April 2010, I returned from a weekend trip to Tobago and headed straight to the St Augustine Private Hospital. My father had been hospitalised there and I was going to meet my sister for a conference with his doctor.
After being | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fwhy-i-want-give-gift-life.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Why I want to give the gift of life | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | On a Sunday morning in April 2010, I returned from a weekend trip to Tobago and headed straight to the St Augustine Private Hospital. My father had been hospitalised there and I was going to meet my sister for a conference with his doctor.
After being physically active for most of his adult life, my father, then just days away from his 77th birthday, had been enduring a series of health challenges for several years. Still, neither I nor my sister were prepared for the news we got that morning. Daddy was dying of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Dialysis was not an option. My father was already in poor health and putting him through the medical procedures necessary for a man of his age to get dialysis and prolong his life would do little more than prolong his dying.
The painful decision made that morning was to make arrangements for palliative care. We were given prescriptions to fill, sheets of instructions for daddy’s diet and end of life care and we took him home to die. Everything else about that day was mostly a blur for me. I remember struggling to keep my emotions in check, how long the drive along the Eastern Main Road into Port-of-Spain seemed and stopping at my workplace, rushing into my office, so I could finally give way to tears in private. Since it was Sunday, I had the privacy of an almost deserted newsroom at that time of the morning to vent my grief.
Processing that bad news, coming to terms with the fact that daddy had only a few months to live, was a struggle. Home care had to be arranged. Nurses were hired to attend to daddy during the day. Overnight care was handled by my mother, sister and adult son. As often as I could I would drop in on mornings on the way to work to help him with his breakfast and to administer the injections and cocktail of pills that were part of his daily regimen.
Watching a loved one die is difficult, to put it very mildly. But at least we had time. Time to say goodbye, to ensure all his final wishes were carried out.
My father developed ESRD because he had suffered with Type 2 diabetes most of his adult life. He had been an active man. He had been a physical education teacher at Mt Hope Junior Secondary and most evenings he could be found at the public courts in Port-of-Spain—now the location of NAPA—playing and coaching tennis.
Although he took care with his diet and exercise, the truth is that for many years my father lived with a progressive and untreatable disease which is one of the most common causes of ESRD.
On the night of January 28, 2011, my father, Fitzroy Thomas Sheppard, passed away peacefully after a seven month struggle with ESRD.
Long before I had that personal encounter with kidney disease, I signed up as an organ donor with the Ministry of Health’s National Organ Transplant Unit. It is my wish to donate my kidneys—and any other organs than can be transplanted, to save another’s life. Seeing the terrible toll that diseases like ESRD can take only strengthens my determination to share the gift of life whenever I get the chance. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/why-i-want-give-gift-life | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/1527ed1321af0c6de2b08d9af600fc515f5461bdfb3953edbf099844828768a9.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:50:11 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | T&T’s approach to preserving its built heritage has come under the spotlight several times in recent years. The demolition of Greyfriars Church on Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, in 2015, caused widespread public outrage and there has been c | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-30%2Fpigeons-red-house.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-6_140.jpg?itok=ooznZHcF | en | null | Pigeons in the Red House | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | T&T’s approach to preserving its built heritage has come under the spotlight several times in recent years. The demolition of Greyfriars Church on Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, in 2015, caused widespread public outrage and there has been consternation at the deterioration of Mille Fleurs and Whitehall, two of the Magnificent Seven buildings around the Queen’s Park Savannah. In this two-part series, Yvonne Baboolal looks at the ongoing saga of two buildings that are seen to epitomise our governance, the Red House—which once was the seat of Parliament—and President’s House. These crucial buildings are in various stages of disrepair, a situation decried by many who believe the state of the buildings is an indication of absence of national pride.
As T&T prepares to celebrate 54 years of independence, one of the country’s most important symbols of governance and people power, the Red House, stands like an eyesore in the capital city.
The dilapidated, pigeon-infested top of the building, surrounded by scaffolding, peeps shamefully out above the red painted galvanise sheeting, blocking it off from the public.
The building stands amidst the well maintained National Library, Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court, the Ministry of the Attorney General and Cabildo Chambers.
Built in 1844 during the colonial era, the Red House once housed the legislative chamber and the offices of the governor, the colonial treasurer, the attorney general, other colonial officials and the law courts.
When T&T gained independence in 1962, it became the proud home of the first government and when the country became a Republic in 1976, the Red House, as a symbol of people power, became a household word.
The building began to decay rapidly after the 1990 insurrection by Jamaat al Muslimeen insurgents.
One faction of the rebels took over the Red House and held several government ministers hostage and engaged in a six-day shoot-out with the army which was outside the building.
The roof of the Red House was damaged by bullets, and leaking began, leading to the collapse of the ceiling.
Attempts to restore the building began 19 years ago but never took off. Excavation work began in 2013 but stopped after workmen unearthed whole human skeletons, bones and other artifacts on the site. They are believed to belong to Amerindians who lived in the area hundreds of years ago. A committee was set up to deal with this, and the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community were called in for discussions. The First Peoples Community have insisted the bones be properly reburied on the site with appropriate indigenous religious ceremony.
It was reportedly agreed that the bones will be reinterred right there at the site after the restoration project is completed.
Former UWI history lecturer Professor Brinsley Samaroo said the Red House played a very important part in our history.
“There were the Water Riots of 1903, the demonstrations outside Parliament. The Red House was seen as a symbol of the people’s power.
“During the Water Riots, ordinary people tried to enter the Red House and could not and 16 were killed by colonial police, including three women.”
Samaroo said during the Black Power Movement of the 1970s, the Red House was once again a focal point of agitation and marching.
“The Red House, the seat of power, was seen as a symbol of governance and governments in T&T.”
He referred to the location of Woodford Square directly opposite the Red House as a gathering place for people agitating for a share in governance.
“Woodford Square was a central meeting point for people involved in the Water Riots even as far back as 1903. It was a place where people involved in the Black Power movement would meet and it attained the name ‘The University of Woodford Square’ because of the political discussions that would take place among ordinary citizens there.
“Most people are ignorant of the historical significance of the area.”
Ricardo Bharath, head of the Santa Rosa First Peoples, is baffled by government secrecy over the skeletons and human bones found under the Red House. Recalling the discovery of the remains of their Amerindian ancestors in 2013, he said, “They were kind of secretive about it, but some men took pictures and made it public. A committee headed by former House Speaker Wade Mark was set up to deal with the situation and they called us to let us know of the find. There were pottery and artifacts associated with the Amerindians and with the more advanced culture of the Europeans. In the first meeting with the committee, we were allowed to see some artifacts. But, to date, we are not allowed to see the bones. We understand there are a few whole skeletons and some bones. Why the secrecy?”
Bharath said the Sanat Rosa First Peoples Community made written and oral submissions to the committee and submitted the same recommendations to the present Government, including to Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly. Recommendations also went to Arima MP Anthony Garcia.
They recommended that the human remains be reburied on the present site with the appropriate indigenous ceremony.
Bharath said according to the UN Declaration on Human Rights of Indigenous People, of which T&T is a signatory, there are clear guidelines on how their human remains should be treated.
He said the other artifacts and pottery could be on display but not the bones.
The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community wants a monument or symbol of the First Peoples to be erected on the Red House site as a symbol of the presence of the First Peoples who existed there.
“We are asking for a space in the reconstructed building from where we can disseminate information on the First Peoples.”
Bharath stressed that the First Peoples never advocated for the removal of Parliament from the site; also, they never said there was to be no renovation of the building. He said the last People’s Partnership administration did not give them any confirmation in writing but said it had no problem with the requests made.
The PNM Government has not yet deliberated on this matter, he said. “We are waiting on Cabinet to deliberate and to say yea or nay. I understand our recommendations are to be discussed. We will wait three weeks.”
Bharath said he is hopeful. “I can’t see why they won’t accede to our requests.” If they are not successful, the First Peoples will seek international help, he said.
Early this month, during the launch of the book The Indigenous Peoples of TT—From the First Settlers Until Today, Bharath spoke about the importance of the proper handling and reburial of ancestral remains. He hinted at negative social consequences if there is a failure to do so. He told T&T Guardian there are many contributing factors to the unrest in the country but said he is convinced the proper handling of the remains of the First Peoples is important to social peace.
“I am not saying because the remains are not being handled properly it will result in crime. But I strongly believe how you treat the remains of your ancestors will have an impact on day to day life.
“When the First People’s spirits are disturbed in a certain way, you have to deal with it. There is a connection with how you treat your remains and its impact on the environment and the people who occupy the space.”
Bharath said recorded and oral history show there was a major Amerindian village at the site of the Red House.
“The East Dry River didn’t always flow where it is flowing now. It was flowing close to the Red House and Amerindians settled on the banks.”
He said the river was later diverted. He said some of the Amerindians were killed, some moved to Santa Cruz and some died from natural causes. “Proper treatment of their remains are especially important for people who sit there in Government and take care of the country’s business.”
New Promises
When the PNM Government came into power in September 2015, it appointed a high-powered Red House Committee headed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. It included Cabinet members.
“A people uninterested in its art…its artists and its history are a people not worthy of an independent state,” Rowley said.
The Government promised to pump $400 million into restoration work on the Red House by the end of March.
The Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) has reportedly already spent $110 million on consultancy and construction work on the Red House.
Udecott said it will need a further $381 million to build a Parliamentary Complex, taking the figure to a total of $891 million.
To date, almost five months later, nothing new has been done to restore the Red House.
Parliament has been moved to the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Complex and at least one historian believes it will remain there for a long time.
Red House Timeline
February 15, 1844 — First stone laid for the foundation of the Red House by Governor Sir Colonel Henry MacLeod, opposite Brunswick Square later changed to Woodford Square during World War I in 1914 to 1918. It was to house legislative chamber and the offices of the governor, the colonial treasurer, the attorney general, other colonial officials and the law courts.
1848 — The building, comprising two plain box-like structures, was declared open.
1849 — First attack on The Red House after a policy was instituted to treat debtors like criminals. Lord Harris spent a night under siege in the building which was surrounded by troops. Window panes were broken and one rioter was shot dead.
1897 — The Red House got its names after it was painted red while Trinidad was preparing to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
March 23, 1903 — Second attack on the Red House. Another riot by citizens took place outside the building where the Legislative Council was debating increasing water rates. Stones were thrown into the building and all the windows were smashed. Members of the Council chamber hid under desks, tables and behind pillars. The building was burnt and later rebuilt. Sixteen rioters were killed.
February 4, 1907 — The Red House, rebuilt with additions like the rotunda, stucco ceilings and a parapet around the roof, was opened. Decorations for the ceiling were made in England in panels. An Italian craftsman installed the ceiling. The entablature and dais were designed by D M Hahn, chief draughtsman of Public Works. The new style has been described as Beaux Arts.
July 1990 — Jamaat al Muslimeen insurrectionists invaded the building in an attempted overthrow of the government and held several ministers hostage for six days. Six days of shoot-outs between the army on the outside and rebels inside the building resulted in bullet damage to the ceiling.
2010 — After prolonged leaking a large part of the ceiling collapsed.
October 2011 — Parliament moved to Tower D at the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Complex.
From then till now — Off-and-on attempts to repair the Red House.
Part 2 — on President’s House—will appear tomorrow. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-30/pigeons-red-house | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/5c37732d9c6445a25b50aaa5b50bdca2681159c0be01813faafdc7ed01f4ca94.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T10:49:31 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcovers%2Fsaturday-28th-august-2016.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Saturday 28th August, 2016 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Take charge of your real estate One day after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley called on the police to do more to improve the detection rate, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon read the riot act to divisional heads, calling...
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Floods in Debe and PoS Heavy rains caused flash flooding in several parts of the country yesterday. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/covers/saturday-28th-august-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f0ee1123cd4eafed2d230f3cbefcd77b8ec761b79b75cc033617d3af2be94f85.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:49:13 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Over the last ten years I have been writing about suggestions to reduce crime in T&T. The simple suggestions made were communicated to the relevant government officials. To date our nation continues to grapple with ever-increasing violent crime with | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-27%2Fno-need-reinvent-crime-fighting-systems.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | No need to reinvent crime-fighting systems | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Over the last ten years I have been writing about suggestions to reduce crime in T&T. The simple suggestions made were communicated to the relevant government officials. To date our nation continues to grapple with ever-increasing violent crime with little success while the basic tried and proven solutions remain as suggestions and no more.
In every society where crime is low there are commonalities. These include employment and sporting activities to engage the youths, structured regular police patrols, quick uncompromising justice and a healthy private sector business environment.
In T&T, policing is generally reactive where officers at the stations react to reports of crime. That needs to change to proactive structures through scheduled defined patrols in every community.
The judicial system must offload most of the present cases that have been burdening the system for years. As such, cases over 10 years should be dismissed or subject to immediate mediation.
Plea bargaining ought to be standardised and included in our laws. Our prisons need to be reformed physically and systems updated to be centres of rehabilitation.
Our communities should be structured through comprehensive local government reform. Activity centres for sports, steel pan, music, dancing and drama should be constructed in every community.
Businesses should be encouraged to employ and train youths and given tax credits for such endeavours. Communities should construct and offer at subsidised prices office space, manufacturing space and food courts to encourage trade and investment in the communities.
The police service should be given the option of either restructuring the entire service to be modern and efficient or face being closed down and replaced with a smaller well-trained unit made up of national police and local community police employed and based in the communities.
These measures, together with upgrading the current motor vehicle registration system to modern plates and a tracing system as well as a reliable network of cameras and overhead surveillance, will have the desired effect or reducing crime.
This is how the world works and there is no need to reinvent systems when all that is needed is tweaking successful systems and making them relevant to the needs of T&T.
God bless our nation.
Steve Alvarez | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-27/no-need-reinvent-crime-fighting-systems | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/fe16ae9ca09cf023e594bc4a7d129b574c12a0c7eb4109d5555456e5ee908b2b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T02:50:05 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Natasha De Silva, the mother of seven who lost two of her children in a custody battle with their father after she failed to attend a case hearing due to an apparent error by the Judiciary, can now challenge the decision by two means.
In a brief | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-29%2Fmom-has-two-ways-challenge-ruling.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Mom has two ways to challenge ruling | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Natasha De Silva, the mother of seven who lost two of her children in a custody battle with their father after she failed to attend a case hearing due to an apparent error by the Judiciary, can now challenge the decision by two means.
In a brief interview yesterday, attorney Alexia Romero, who practises in the Family Court, explained that De Silva could reopen her case and challenge the ruling by two methods, applying for a variation of the magistrate’s order and by appealing the decision in the Court of Appeal.
By applying for the variation, De Silva’s case will be rescheduled before Magistrate Ejenny Espinet and she would be given an opportunity to inform the court of the alleged mix-up and ask that the order be altered or removed.
Romero said that she could also opt to have the Court of Appeal review Espinet’s decision but said it would take a much longer time than applying for a variance.
Romero also stated that she recently experienced a similar situation with Family Court officials contacting her via telephone to inform her of adjournments of her client’s cases.
“In my case the court’s representative called both parties and on the adjourn date we both got, we came and explained and the court resumed the matter. It can happen,” Romero said.
However, while she said she did not want to comment on the details of De Silva’s experience, Romero suggested that the decision to make a final order in the case in her absence was unusual.
“Normally, if a person is attending court all the time and one time they did not come the court would not make an order in their absence and would adjourn the matter,” she said.
Contacted for a response to the issue, the Judiciary’s court protocol and information manager, Alicia Carter-Fisher, confirmed De Silva’s complaint.
“It was brought to our attention via the lady and we are in the process of investigating the matter. Until our investigations are complete I cannot comment any further,” Carter-Fisher said. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-29/mom-has-two-ways-challenge-ruling | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/ec76dcb2734008d403b1a30d343fd13f30b04f7d20caa978892f340b85c8882e.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T12:49:31 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Point guard Jordan Persad recorded a triple-double for T&T but it was all in vain as his team fell to its second straight defeat in the Centrobasket Under-15 Boys Championships in Patillas, Puerto Rico, on Thursday evening.
The T&T basketballers | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-28%2Fpersad%25E2%2580%2599s-triple-double-fails-save-tt.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Persad.1.jpeg?itok=26Z0SgGN | en | null | Persad’s triple-double fails to save T&T | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Point guard Jordan Persad recorded a triple-double for T&T but it was all in vain as his team fell to its second straight defeat in the Centrobasket Under-15 Boys Championships in Patillas, Puerto Rico, on Thursday evening.
The T&T basketballers gave a better account of themselves in this affair despite losing 100-90 to Panama. In their opening match, the local side, who had persad topscoring with 22, suffered a 57-point (122-65) loss to Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
Persad notched a match-high once again with 38 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and was unselfish with the ball with 10 assists leading T&T offensive effort as well as defense, also stealing the ball five times.
The Panamanians were ready for the challenge and did not take T&T fro granted, jumping to a early narrow lead of 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.
T&T, which is being coached by Barry Stewart and Morgan “Axe” Shade, stayed close into the second session but were still outscored 26-22, to trail, 43-37 at the half. Panama’s main offensive presence coming from duo Edward Lopez and Carlo Controni.
On the resumption, the local team was not as composed as the first half and struggled to get the ball through the net unlike Lopez and Controni who found the going easier and led Panama’s run, to connect 28 points in the third period while T&T was made to labour for each basket and could only muster 19.
Lopez was best for the Panama team, almost matching T&T’s leading scorer with 33 points and had eight assists. Lopez was also key on defense for the team from Panama as he secured 16 rebounds. Panama also had applauding contributions from Controni with 28 points, captain Jesus Sanjur with 15 points, 10 assists and six steals and Alexis Murillo with 12 points.
Persad did not go it alone though as he was well supported again by teammate guard Micah Didier-Le Blanc, who registered a double-double, netting 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as they partnered to lead T&T’s fightback in the fourth quarter, which proved to be T&T best session of play.
The local boys went to outplay their opponent, outscoring them 34-29 but it was too late and T&T went away with the 10-point defeat.
Today, the youngsters will play their final preliminary round match of Group B against Guyana, which is entering winless as well.
RESULTS
Thursday
T&T 90 vs Panama 100
Mexico 95 vs Costa Rica 66
Dominican Republic 118 vs Guyana 12
Wednesday
T&T 65 vs Dominican Rep 122
Panama 101 vs Guyana 24
Puerto Rico 84 vs Costa Rica 45 | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-28/persad%E2%80%99s-triple-double-fails-save-tt | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/98a9e4d4345dacd5121f661a27641c07b9e3fbffee24e0fb146d2313eb024e0f.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:48:19 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Only one stray dog was seen lingering around the south city yesterday following the permanent closure of the San Fernando pound by Mayor Kazim Hosein.
Some of the stray dogs housed at the pound before its closure were sent to the Animals Alive sanctuary | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fdog-pound-shut-down-good.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/meeting%20dogs.jpg?itok=rEakAVgT | en | null | Dog pound shut down for good | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Only one stray dog was seen lingering around the south city yesterday following the permanent closure of the San Fernando pound by Mayor Kazim Hosein.
Some of the stray dogs housed at the pound before its closure were sent to the Animals Alive sanctuary at Ralph Narine Trace, South Oropouche, on Wednesday.
Five dogs and three pups have since been adopted by new owners.
In an interview yesterday, vice president of Animals Alive Jowelle De Souza said discussions were ongoing between Hosein and other stakeholders to upgrade the pound to include an adoption centre. She said strays from five pounds in South Trinidad covering the Point Fortin Borough Corporation, Princes Town, Penal/Debe and Siparia Regional Corporations are usually sent to the Animal Alive shelter.
She said that officials from the dog pound in Port-of-Spain liaise with the T&T Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA).
“I believe it is only in San Fernando that the dogs are ill-treated in this manner,” De Souza said in relation to a video circulating on social media which showed the dogs being injected and thrown in a pile.
She said that senior attorneys have already drafted letters advising that criminal and civil proceedings can be brought against the San Fernando City Corporation if the stray dogs continue to be mistreated.
De Souza said she was hoping that the allocation given to the corporation could be used to improve the conditions at the San Fernando dog pound.
“All of the dog pounds in the country have since stopped euthanising the dogs or even picking up stray dogs. The mayor said to give him two weeks and they plan to use the extra three acres at Roodal Cemetery to house the dogs,” De Souza said.
Veterinary surgeon Dr Kriyaan Singh, a former independent senator, has offered to put the dogs to sleep in a humane way. Several years ago, stray dogs were killed by electrocution at the pound.
After a campaign by animal rights activists the dogs were euthanised through lethal injections.
Contacted yesterday, Hosein said within the next two weeks, a building plan utilising the three acres of land available to the corporation will be unveiled.
Saying he will consult with all veterinarians and animal rights NGOs in the city to ensure that the facility meets the necessary standards, Hosein added, “We love animals in the city of San Fernando, and this project cannot move forward unless we have the input of the experts who can properly guide us on how this new facility should be outfitted.”
He also said the quality of food that the dogs are receiving will be improved.
“We will be promoting the importance of spaying and neutering pets to ensure that the stray population is controlled,” Hosein added. He also said proper signs will be installed at the newly refurbished pound. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/dog-pound-shut-down-good | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/4936c60251b6ede018e10220190a18ae532b6fabba4efbf99080794af487a2c9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:50:36 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The power over life and death is usually thought to be held by the Almighty Creator, envisioned differently depending on a person’s religious beliefs. To know that as individuals we have been given the power by the Creator—or set of creative forces—to sav | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Feditorial%2F2016-08-29%2Fguardian%25E2%2580%2599s-campaign-help-save-lives.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Guardian’s campaign to help save lives | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The power over life and death is usually thought to be held by the Almighty Creator, envisioned differently depending on a person’s religious beliefs. To know that as individuals we have been given the power by the Creator—or set of creative forces—to save and enhance life is awesome.
The focus started in the T&T Sunday Guardian on the work of the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) of the Ministry of Health to have citizens become aware that they have within their physical and psychological being the power to save the lives of others by donating organs, is one that should be seriously considered.
The stories carried in the weekend paper highlighted instances of people making donations of what may be referred to as “spare” kidneys to friends, relatives, indeed even unknown strangers are refreshing and touching.
An older sister unable to see her young brother go continuously through the weekly struggle of dialysis; a cousin no longer able to have his relative live a less than fulfilling life with a malfunctioning kidney and even a brother who risked conflict within his own family when he gave his sister a new lease on life by donating one of this kidneys to her were all told.
As it may be well known in certain quarters, the average healthy individual is born with two functioning kidneys but can live a normal life with one.
Medical science reached a stage back in the early 1950s when doctors could safely remove a kidney from the body of someone with a healthy pair, to replace a bad kidney in someone else’s body.
Of course, the necessary tests need to be done prior to the surgery to ensure compatibility of the donated organ with the receiving individual.
For the donor left with one kidney, science and experience have shown that the remaining organ grows to successfully take on the workload of two kidneys. For the recipient, it’s a life not only enhanced, but saved.
But as the NOTU is indicating, post-life transplant of healthy organs is also possible once there is agreement by the relatives of the person who has passed, that this is what he or she would have wanted.
This is a win-win situation for the individual donor who has passed knowing that even in death he/she can contribute to the good health of someone gaining additional time here on earth.
“I never had any doubts or regrets that it was the right thing to do,” said donor Jessie May Ventour. Four years after the donation and both she and her brother are in excellent condition. He has benefited from having a greater quality of life—life itself. She has “witnessed a miracle” in her brother’s life.
Becoming a donor live donor or leaving instructions for some body part to be transferred to someone in need of a better quality, and a second chance on life, can be one of the most rewarding acts in the life and death of an individual.
It is an act that will stand out stark in a world so often characterised by uncaring and those who would end the life of others.
In addition to the actual difference a donation will make, every transplant surgery undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago must enhance capacity of the institution and the individuals carrying out the surgery.
Just when you may think you may not be able to contribute meaningfully to the quality of life here, along comes an opportunity for you to donate.
See Page A5 of our paper today. It’s in your hands, in more ways than one. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/editorial/2016-08-29/guardian%E2%80%99s-campaign-help-save-lives | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/06a07526e956305f56ddabe6bdd540aee6523497e1dae28336da825fd5335331.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:24 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Probably the greatest indictment on the Opposition to date is their obvious inability to capitalise on a moral victory in the courts following the outcome of their preliminary trial against the EBC. It becomes even more embarrassing, however, when you | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-26%2Fcountry-opposition-suffering-political-fatigue.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Country, opposition suffering from political fatigue | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Probably the greatest indictment on the Opposition to date is their obvious inability to capitalise on a moral victory in the courts following the outcome of their preliminary trial against the EBC. It becomes even more embarrassing, however, when you consider that the Opposition Leader was also heading the legal team that challenged the decision to extend the voting time in the last general election.
Even if the legally rusty senior counsel could not muster a legal victory after the judge acknowledged the illegality of the action taken by the EBC, one would expect that she would at least attempt to rally her supporters to demonstrate their anguish against the EBC and the executives who were incriminated in the illegal activity.
Instead, those closest to her seem to be adopting a different approach, by defending the commissioners and other executives who were complicit in the very act that the UNC claims cost them the election, for reasons that may baffle anyone who bears witness to the kangaroo case that they’ve turned it into.
But this is only one instance in a string of missed opportunities for the Opposition since the last election, which has sparked curiosity from supporters and detractors alike. This is a stark contrast to the approach of the PNM only one term prior, which many may agree, allowed them to reclaim government in only five years, following the utter collapse of their prior administration.
While Dr Rowley and his team have stumbled out of the blocks, and hobbled along ever since, they have maintained a level of comfort that only the weakest Opposition force would allow.
Whether this is the fault of the UNC and its administrators alone is debatable, however, as the entire nation has turned oddly docile in the face of fundamental socio-economic changes, and an increase in criminal activity.
One could argue that for the past 15 years our nation has been politically charged until it finally reached critical mass in the last general election. While many PNM supporters were fairly optimistic of the reformed party that would assume government, they became sobered during Dr Rowley’s victory speech, and were thenceforth accommodating to any policy changes that were almost immediately instituted from the first budget presentation.
It is no secret that for decades there has been a large percentage of our population that were wholly dependent upon government assistance for their everyday expenses and lives, so when the PNM immediately began revoking these grants while simultaneously increasing the cost of living, it was obvious that people’s lives would be affected in a very negative way.
But yet, no matter how displeased many people became, there has been no action taken by the Opposition, trade union, or civil society to challenge these decisions. When one considers that during the People’s Partnership term in government, a popular taunt of their detractors to their supporters was to refer to their “eat ah food” style, it’s interesting that now that the situation has reversed, the taunt has not done the same.
I expect that this time of solace will not last very long, but it will be interesting to note who will be the person to end it. It is clear that whatever the UNC is forcing themselves to believe about the election results is inimical as they clearly do not command even a fraction of the support they did prior to their defeat in the polls. What is truly disappointing to me and many other supporters, however, isn’t what they have lost, but rather their failure to avail themselves of the boundless opportunities they allow to evade their grasp.
Ravi Maharaj | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-26/country-opposition-suffering-political-fatigue | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/112f91a752deb0da5a8b698113d357da02cfaaf4e781bedac3023ce32edcaf7d.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:50:21 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Uncertain times distinguish certain friends — Ennius.
Cicero made the point that false friends are separated from true when the chips are down while at the same time expressing the idea that friendship is the truest comfort of mankind; yet it must be p | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-30%2Feveryone-has-right-fail.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-2_311.jpg?itok=9Jd0whtl | en | null | Everyone has a right to fail | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Uncertain times distinguish certain friends — Ennius.
Cicero made the point that false friends are separated from true when the chips are down while at the same time expressing the idea that friendship is the truest comfort of mankind; yet it must be pursued judiciously and worked at diligently.
Our mind can either be a false friend or a true friend.
Our body, it is said, is what the body is fed.
By the same token, the mind is what the mind is fed.
But unlike the food we eat, mind food doesn't come in packages and you can't buy it in a store. Mind food is your environment - all the things which influence your conscious and subconscious thought.
The kind of mind food we consume determines our habits, attitudes, personality.
Each of us have a capacity to develop and fulfill our highest potential and purpose.
How much of that capacity we develop and the way that capacity is developed depends on the mind food we've been fed.
Our mind reflects the mind food we feed it as the body reflects the food we ingest.
A major hindrance on the road to success is the feeling that major accomplishment is beyond us.
When we were children we set high goals and had big dreams. We accepted no limits.
We day dreamed and played. Whatever we wanted to be - doctor, rich and famous, Prime Minister, to be the brightest and the best, world champion.. whatever... we play acted out the role.
We were excited in our make believe and impossible is nothing world.
But what happened?
We were told that it’s only child’s play and a day dream. That it’s naive, wishful thinking, robber talk and that we must manage expectations - that you have to be lucky, have important friends, you too poor, too duncey, too slow, too fat, too skinny, you don't have the right address etc. Life isn't a Hollywood movie. Get real.
Real life success and accomplishment is for others who are lucky or fortunate in some special way.
Robbed of hope. Bereft. Cast adrift. Flotsam going with the tide and current of circumstances. Inadequate for big things.
Some give living their dreams a good shot. They plan for it and work hard but challenges and adversity wear them down and patience runs out and they settle. Concluding that greater success is not worth the effort. Fear steps in. Fear of failure. Fear of social disapproval, Fear of change. Fear of the unknown.
Then there are those who never give up or surrender their dream. They bounce back no matter what defeat and adversity they meet.
They understand and experience the dignity of risk. Everybody has a right to fail, a right to take risks.
They get up each day excited. Life is an adventure. They haven't allowed the dream crushers to rob them of hope and their dreams.
They don't let those who have surrendered or given up convince them to surrender and give up.
Negative thinkers pull you down to their level and rob others of hope.
The seeds of hopelessness are nurtured by despair, negativity and fear. Success comes from the journey and direction in which you are moving.
Negative mind food can only touch your mind, heart and soul if you allow it in.
False Friend or True Friend. It’s a choice you make.
People want things now - the system of instant gratification: approval, acceptance and being liked can work against those who pursue a dream.
To reach your highest potential you have to dream in an environment that allows you to dream. Deep within is your highest potential. Dare to dream. Dare to dream of greatness. Dare to hope.
The journey of turning dreams into success is foremost about giving your all and at times you will have to be a rebel with a cause.
It’s a choice you make.
Happy 54th Anniversary of Independence Trinidad and Tobago. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-30/everyone-has-right-fail | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/e3b09f46fb320479fd342f62a7a3f0d8242cbb217a9a25361709d1d87ff13147.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:50:03 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Crab and oyster venders in Woodland who have been struggling to survive since oil seeped into the mangrove more than a month ago also want monetary assistance from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
“Please don’t forget us,” said Woodland Crab and Oyster Ven | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-28%2Fwoodland-vendors-plead-hardship.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Madan%20Rambharose.jpg?itok=jrmr_K_L | en | null | Woodland vendors plead hardship | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Crab and oyster venders in Woodland who have been struggling to survive since oil seeped into the mangrove more than a month ago also want monetary assistance from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
“Please don’t forget us,” said Woodland Crab and Oyster Vendors Association president Madan Rambharose who lives on the river bank opposite the Sudama Teerath with his wife and three children ages nine, five and four.
Rowley announced last week that Cabinet approved $1 million to assist fishermen affected by recent fish kills in the Gulf of Paria.
Pointing to dilapidated homes constructed along the river, Rambharose said the crab and oyster sales were the vendors only form of income.
Complaining that neither the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) or Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) have visited the mangrove since the oil appeared, he said: “Up to now it still have oil in the roots and in the crab hole. We cannot sell that to the people and people fraid to buy. We heard about the $1 million compensation, but no one contact us about it.”
With school opening next week Monday, Rambharose said some vendors were yet to buy school supplies.
“People just struggling and trying to survive right now. They (Government) forget us on this side. They suppose to at least meet with us, but they not studying us up in the river.”
Saying that there were 38 registered vendors in Woodland, he said: “Some people don’t have food in their house. The cupboards empty. Some people making and selling cocoyea broom to try to get a lil change. We all trying to help one another, but it’s really hard.”
Rambharose called for a proper investigation into the origin of the oil spill. “We want to know who is responsible for this.”
Crab vendor Navindra Deodat, a father of young children, said he has been doing small jobs to try to maintain his family. “Whatever I get, I going. I not really working so I cannot buy school bags and shoes for my children to go to school, they will have to use their old ones.”
“Is cost me about $150 a week to transport my children to school alone. It hard, it really hard,” said Deodat.
Meanwhile, South Oropouche Crab and Oysters Association president Kishore Ramsingh said the parliamentary representative for his area contacted him after Rowley made the announcement.
“My MP contact me and tell me he have something from the government for we. So I believe we included too.” He will know for sure when he meet with his MP on Tuesday.
When contacted on WhatsApp on whether crab and oyster vendors were included in the $1 million assistance, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said: “The assistance will cover all those directly affected by the issues in south west.” | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-28/woodland-vendors-plead-hardship | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/7396fa37be53712aea3928ea7d2207558550f652d1b6e516f7fb048d32cf961f.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:50:43 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Reading Inward Hunger, it’s clear it is propaganda—the combative tone, squaring off against the antagonist of the coloniser. It’s a tract for the foot-soldiers in the struggle. But a closer reading reveals another story: about one man, William the Conqu | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-31%2Flast-year-king.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Raymond%20Ramcharitar_92.jpg?itok=kgByTvSs | en | null | The last year of the King | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Reading Inward Hunger, it’s clear it is propaganda—the combative tone, squaring off against the antagonist of the coloniser. It’s a tract for the foot-soldiers in the struggle. But a closer reading reveals another story: about one man, William the Conqueror, in a campaign against a horde of enemies who included CLR James, the PDP, the Guardian, the Caribbean Commission among others.
The personality that emerges is dictatorish, but (a close reader imagines) there must be something other than the soapbox megaphone. The irascible, mercurial Eric Williams is a fascinating icon, but the whole man has barely been explored.
And there’s much more waiting to be unravelled: the isolated, doting father and his beloved daughter, who lost the love of his life (his second wife, Soy) after only a few years. The warrior who fought epic battles, monsters in knight errant, or quixotic, quests, and who became one himself. This is how he saw himself, as a Ulysses, qua the title of the autobiography); a Dante or a Tamburlaine. But we have no window into this aspect of the man. Or do we?
Often the scribbles on the margins of a life reveal more than the pages crammed with text. And thanks to historian Brinsley Samaroo’s combing through the Eric Williams collection at the UWI (and telling me about it), a few traces of the inner Williams become visible via a number of day-planner diaries between 1978 and 1981, the final three years of his life. In them are notes, fragments, personal details Williams never intended anyone else to see, but posterity has its price.
From the entries, he was meticulous, perhaps obsessive-compulsive. He records what he spent on groceries, the dates of his haircuts (at least once a month, at a cost of $10), and his blood pressure. In January 1980, his BP was 150/90; by December 16, it was 165/90. He was examined twice a month by Dr Halsey McShine, whom he liked, and invited to supper frequently.
Also recurring are several entries of “donations”, usually of $20—though no mention as to whom or for what, except on November 8, when he lists “$100 donation, Divali.” Similarly, intriguing minutiae float around like asteroids. On November 18 and 19, 1980, for example, he bought “thread, honey, batteries, and cosmetics,” for $32.37. We can only guess why or for what.
His routine was fixed. He was usually at work by 8 am and in bed by 10 pm (he records his bedtime). He worked all day, but not in a linear way. In between being Prime Minister, he was preparing a manuscript to which he continuously alluded. He would spirit time between meetings to work on it. On January 4, in between meeting “Mahabir and Manning” between 9 and 12.15, he “edited Chapter 4 and read Verlinden for an hour.”
Someone who knew Williams told me he would ask ambassadors to purchase books for him. One book-buyer/ambassador would read them beforehand, and have long discussions about the content with the PM. At these sessions, Williams was alert and voracious. This was evidently where his passion lay. Even though 1980 was an election year (in Tobago), he spent much time on reading and annotating several books for his own manuscript in between Parliament, official meetings, the PNM convention, and so forth.
Some of the books and authors included Charles Verlinden, a Belgian historian who published many books on the slave trade; books on The Chinese in Peru and Indians in Africa; Yseult Bridges’ Child of the Tropics, A Short Thousand Years; Soviet Historians in Latin America, Indian Nationalism.
His books evidently gave him comfort, but so did a few people. On January 1, 1980, for example, he was “Rewriting Ch 1, reading Verlinden, had lunch with Claudia.” On January 2, between 11-11.45, he saw “Claudia after meeting Dr Julien, Minister Gordon.”
Claudia reappears frequently. She was one of his domestic staff whose company he evidently preferred to his political associates like “Donawa,” “Prevatt,” “O’Halloran,” “Mahabir,” who were regular visitors.
Other names appear in entries, some cryptically, like “Govia”—possibly a reference to UWI Professor of History, Elsa Goveia, who reviewed, unflatteringly, Williams’ British Historians and the West Indies. There’s also an entry, on February 22, “Discussion, Panday”—though no mention of whether it’s a discussion with or about Panday.
Outside of political frissons, other small, unrelated incidents float tantalisingly. He lists a parking ticket on April 10, at a cost of $40. (Who on earth would have dared?) There was a libel matter on Oct 24, which cost $2,880. On February 25, he lists “Jewelry, $3,455.00,” and again on March 28, for $370. No mention as to who got the items. On December 4, he gives O’Halloran US$600 (he doesn’t say why), and has dinner with Claudia on December 11. He gave his household staff (Claudia and Clarita) Christmas bonuses of $250 that year.
Looking at 1980 via his annotations, two things crystallise: first, a weariness with politics; and second, his wondering whether this was any country for old men. Increasingly, you feel the realisation that, as Yeats put it, “an aged man is but a paltry thing/a tattered coat upon a stick.” By the end of the year, Williams had arrived at “O sages standing in God’s holy fire…Consume my heart away; sick with desire/And fastened to a dying animal.”
On December 17, he records that he was “feeling unwell.” On December 22-24 he planned to “take life easy,” by reading A General History of Africa, Vol I. On the last day of the year he was visited by O’Halloran and Dr McShine, and he wrote: “Did not want to see them.” Three months later, he was gone. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-31/last-year-king | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/a9bf564dea7662332530cb39cfcc116da4e45703b02ee9c66f8339f53b9f796e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:50:41 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | T&T’s Aaron Wilson, two-time reigning Caribbean Junior champion reached as far as the quarterfinal round of the Junior Boys and Cadet Boys singles competition at the International Table Tennis Federation Circuit Junior & Cadet Open in San S | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-30%2Fchamp-wilson-ousted-el-salvador.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-3_262.jpg?itok=ou7bQnzb | en | null | Champ Wilson ousted in El Salvador | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | T&T’s Aaron Wilson, two-time reigning Caribbean Junior champion reached as far as the quarterfinal round of the Junior Boys and Cadet Boys singles competition at the International Table Tennis Federation Circuit Junior & Cadet Open in San Salvador, El Salvador on Sunday.
With a semifinal spot and bronze medal at stake for the least, the third seeded Wilson was beaten by Puerto Rican Francisco Mattias 11-6, 6-11, 10-12, 10-12, 8-11.
Brazilian Siddharta Almeida, who combined with Wilson for the boys team added the singles crown when he beat eighth ranked Puerto Rican Sebastian Echavarria, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7. At the quarter-final stage Almeida accounted for Gabriel Perez 11-4, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, before overcoming Francisco Matias, the sixth seed 9-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9.
Echavarria recorded a quarter-final win over Panama’s Jacobo Vahnish, the surprise first round winner over Sweden’s Oskar Danielsson, the no.4 seed (15-13, 17-15, 11-8, 12-10).
One round later, Echavarria had raised the eyebrows even more by overcoming colleague Yomar Gonzalez, the top seed (11-5, 13-11, 11-6, 11-6).
On Saturday, Wilson made light work of his Group Three opponents to end with a 3-0 record at the Alameda Juan Pablo II Centro de Gobierno, San Salvador, Palacio de los Deportes.
Wilson, a member of Carenage Blasters defeated El Salvador’s Oliver Mendoza 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6; Guatemala’s Roerto Diaz 12-10, 11-5, 11-6, and Sweden’s Teodor Siljeholm 11-6, 11-7, 11-7.
However, the trio of Jesse Dookie (1-2), Matthew Mootra (0-3) and Luc O’Young (0-3), the latter two who combined for a quarterfinal showing in the Team event did not get out of their respective groups.
In the T&T Cadet Boys competition Dookie and Fin Boss qualified to the main draw as well but were beaten at the round-of-16 stage while Nikoli Barbour-Alexis missed out due to points-ratio after he ended in a three-way tie in his pool.
Dookie loss to Panama’s Emilio Wong 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-13, 8-11 and beat home town player Walter Acuna 11-5, 11-0, 11-6 in Group Two while Boss went under to Puerto Rico’s Gabriel Perez 2-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 6-11 but then got the better of host smasher Rodrigo Sanchez 11-6, 11-5, 12-10 and Sweden’s Jens Holmqvist 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11.
Barbour-Alexis tasted defeat at the hands of El Salvador’s Celvin Perez 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 9-11 but rebounded with wins over Guatemalan Luis Ton 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3 and Costa Rican Juan Trejos 12-10, 11-13, 5-11, 15-13, 11-4 in Group Seven.
However at the end of the series, the trio of Barbour-Alexis, Perez and Ton all had 2-1 records, but based of their better sets won ratio, Ton (8-5) and Perez (7-6) secured the top two spots ahead of the T&T player who had a 70-7 record.
Jacob Vahnish made up for his quarter-final exit in the Junior Boys’ Singles by winning the Cadet Boys’, when he beat Costa Rica’s José Perez 13-11, 11-6, 11-2 to claim the title.
At the semi-final stage, Vahnish ousted Ecuador’s Bryan Escobar 11-2, 12-10, 11-5 while Perez defeated Paraguay’s Elias Apud 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 12-10. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-30/champ-wilson-ousted-el-salvador | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9d572cd150b25ae46f9933ea83b8ab7c1b0992abd0aaa5c89184e0a01b3610fb.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:51:01 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | One understands that in a time of recession, money is not available as other times of prosperity and that certain 'cutback' measures must be taken to curb spending. However, there are certain essential goods and services that a people just cannot do | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-30%2Fphlebotomist-urgently-needed-chaguanas.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Phlebotomist urgently needed in Chaguanas | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | One understands that in a time of recession, money is not available as other times of prosperity and that certain 'cutback' measures must be taken to curb spending. However, there are certain essential goods and services that a people just cannot do without or even to have 'cutbacks', because the goods and services will no longer be as effective and efficient as they are expected to be.
One such case is the staffing of personnel in key areas of health services such as we have seen with the short staffing of forensic pathology, which caused a total shutdown of the department.
Another such case is that of the services of phlebotomists in hospitals and health centres. The Minister of Health needs to take note of the shortage of staff in this key area in the Chaguanas Health Facility, where only one phlebotomist is hard pressed to provide this service to almost 100 patients on a daily basis.
Taking blood from the body is surely a very tedious and slow process and one just cannot ask the single attendant in this area to just work faster. Patience is the main ingredient here.
Patients at this health centre have been complaining for a very long time of the long lines and uncomfortable waiting, not to mention the waste of precious time for as much as four to five hours to have this procedure done.
Minister, it would be worth the while to look at this very essential service and its shortcomings and have this matter rectified as soon as possible. This, especially in this times with Zika on the rise and just about everyone with the slightest symptoms wanting to have a blood test done.
WKS Hosein,
via email | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-30/phlebotomist-urgently-needed-chaguanas | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/da507dba1fe6f37a0af8b51717713b8ea6df7b862ad4477a2c7153a700a77440.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:48:41 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Indeed, a non-partisan approach to fighting crime is what is required as crime in T&T has assumed international dimensions.
It would therefore be more realistic and a commitment to the national interest were these concerns for reduction in the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-27%2Fnation-must-rise-against-crime.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Nation must rise up against crime | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Indeed, a non-partisan approach to fighting crime is what is required as crime in T&T has assumed international dimensions.
It would therefore be more realistic and a commitment to the national interest were these concerns for reduction in the incidence of crime to be translated into measures to deal with the escalating scourge.
Everyone also knows that a failure to witness any marked increase in the crime detection rate, the causes of which are still to be determined, must be one of the major contributors to the continuing high rate of crime.
For example, is it that citizens have been withholding co-operation with the police? One hears that citizens are reluctant to provide the police with information regarding criminal activity.
Is it that the system of dispensing justice has been moving so slowly as to present the criminal with a certain degree of comfort?
Why are the several issues identified for “treatment” at the Remand Yard not being addressed?
Let there be a national non-partisan crusade against crime in all its several facets.
Errol O C Cupid,
Trincity, Tacarigua | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-27/nation-must-rise-against-crime | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/cbaa173af08b215e9c1b3f6107bf527dca010877ffd0b2f629536e2d58b3aa8e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:50:29 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | No one can deny that Jamaica is streets ahead of Trinidad and Tobago when it comes to track and field. Many reasons have been advanced for this, with their very strong high-school championships (popularly known as “Champs”) playing a major role.
I stud | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-30%2Fattitude-champions.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | The attitude of champions | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | No one can deny that Jamaica is streets ahead of Trinidad and Tobago when it comes to track and field. Many reasons have been advanced for this, with their very strong high-school championships (popularly known as “Champs”) playing a major role.
I studied mathematics (Special) at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica from 1970-1973 and saw first-hand how Champs galvanised an entire nation. Many sport-loving Trinis living in Hall got caught up in the action, supporting whichever school our Jamaican friends supported or the underdog, depending on one’s mood. It is safe to say that the fervour generated by Champs has not waned in 43 years and is unlikely to do so in the near future.
By comparison, in T&T, only those directly involved know when the school championships are taking place or who wins. But that's not surprising. In many cases, school sports have degenerated into who gets more “likes” on Facebook, who can post the most trashy video or make the most abusive comments.
But there’s another important reason why Jamaica is more successful—attitude. Let me ask a (very) hypothetical question. If one of our athletes had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Rio Olympics (or even one gold), what do you think would have happened this last week? I'm sure we all know: massive crowd at the airport to welcome the athlete, politicians falling over themselves to pay tribute, partying for days, all kinds of rewards, you know the drill. I suspect the athlete would have been all too willing to lap it up with immediate competition the furthest thing from his/her mind.
Now consider what some of the Jamaican athletes were up to last weekend, less than one week after the Rio closing ceremony. On Friday, Elaine Thompson (2 gold, 1 silver) was competing in (and winning) the 100 metres at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne. Also in the race were her teammates Veronica Campbell-Brown and Christania Williams. Omar McLeod (gold in Rio) was running the 110 metres hurdles—he placed second but that is unimportant to my point. Asafa Powell won the 100 metres. Megan Simmonds ran the 100 metres hurdles.
On Saturday at the Paris Diamond League, Jamaicans in action were Simone Facey (200M), Aisha Praught (3000M steeplechase), Stephenie Ann McPherson and Christine Day (400M). T&T’s lone competitor over the weekend was Keshorn Walcott (javelin). He placed fifth but, again, that’s unimportant. It’s his attitude that impresses.
In the lead-up to the Olympics there were 10 Diamond League meets, in addition to other global events. I was continually surprised at the strong Jamaican presence at these meets compared to a dearth of T&T athletes. Notable exceptions were Michelle-Lee Ahye, Machel Cedenio, Cleopatra Borel and Walcott. Isn’t it remarkable that these four were our best performers at the Rio Games? Do we see a link between attitude and success?
Noel Kalicharan, via email | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-30/attitude-champions | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/e87fc8e52b1565993fac76d8947067012d5738ed4c7d7b6ad8de80cb9743ae95.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:51:02 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Today, Trinidad and Tobago celebrates a great landmark in our heritage—54 years of independence—and we should be proud of the great progress this country has made during that time.
The T&T Guardian wants all our readers to celebrate today but we can | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-31%2Fdestroying-our-heritage.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-1_343.jpg?itok=tCXN1bbi | en | null | Destroying our heritage | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Today, Trinidad and Tobago celebrates a great landmark in our heritage—54 years of independence—and we should be proud of the great progress this country has made during that time.
The T&T Guardian wants all our readers to celebrate today but we cannot be entirely proud of some of our history.
When a close relative grows old and their care becomes challenging, the choice becomes simple.
Place the person in professional care and let someone else handle it or double down and find a way to manage the problem with the resources available.
When it comes to the history of Trinidad and Tobago, and more specifically the artifacts that remain standing as a reminder of that past, the overwhelming choice has been to let history fend for itself and the results have been disastrous.
There is no elder care home for ageing buildings, artifacts and monuments.
Each nation meets the challenge of preserving portions of its built history according to its means and its interest in doing so.
In China, entire villages and towns have been razed to support that nation’s enthusiastic embrace of capitalism and modernity.
Cuba, with far less available in its coffers, has chosen to preserve its built history carefully and craft a national narrative that embraces everything that has made the country what it is today.
Those are broad brush strokes and in both nations, there are notable exceptions that prove the rule. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-31/destroying-our-heritage | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f7db0cc119dae5330a887e708f48f4f42e6a44b702bc037cdf417c94d0882bbf.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:48:20 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Kevin Baldeosingh
Only parents experience absolute love. Well, okay, let me not be absolutist: there are probably childless people who know absolute love. But they are surely few and far between. That is because we choose our relationships with other | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-27%2Fman-child-no-conditions-need-apply.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Kevin%20column_48.jpg?itok=47ljDzcz | en | null | MAN & CHILD: No conditions need apply | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Kevin Baldeosingh
Only parents experience absolute love. Well, okay, let me not be absolutist: there are probably childless people who know absolute love. But they are surely few and far between. That is because we choose our relationships with other adults and work to maintain them. But our children are an absolute: we are attached to them at the most fundamental biological level and from that is forged hoops of primal steel. Love as an emotion waxes and wanes; love as a relationship is constant, and no relationship is more powerful than the parent-child bond.
However, a misconception many parents embrace is in thinking that absolute love is the same as unconditional love. Yet it is possible—indeed, it is common—for parents who love their children absolutely to still act as though their love is conditional.
In my column last week about self-esteem and why promoting it is bad for children, I ended with the point that unconditional love is the crucial component for raising a confident child. Some weeks ago my three-year-old daughter Jinaki told me, “Even when you are upset with me, you still love me.” This led to a five-minute conversation in which she was basically saying that Daddy and Mommy loved her no matter what. In other words, she believed that there were no conditions attached to our love for her, and when we bouffed her that was Daddy and Mommy expressing an emotion, not a relationship. For me, this was the first real sign that I might be doing something right in how I’m parenting my children.
However, the majority of parents in T&T apparently do not think their love for their child should be unconditional. Two separate studies, one conducted by the World Values Survey and the other by UWI’s Family Development Centre, found that, of all the traits most parents wanted their children to have, “respect and obedience” topped the list. But, as educator Alfie Kohn argues in his book Unconditional Parenting, “Obedience itself isn’t always desirable...if we place a premium on obedience at home, we may end up producing kids who go along with what they’re told to do by people outside the home, too.”
Parents who place a high premium on obedience are, almost inevitably, going to express their love conditionally—ie they will withhold or give affection in order to get their child to behave in what they consider a desirable manner. It would never occur to them that this is a kind of child abuse, but emotional child abuse is defined, first of all, as continual criticism, sarcasm, hostility or blaming and, secondly, when a parent treats the child as though love is conditional on the child’s good behaviour or obedience to commands.
Studies in other countries suggest that people who have been brought up in this way have less than stellar relationships with their parents, and are liable to have their confidence wax or wane according to their situations. In other words, if they have a setback in their personal or professional lives, they don’t see this as an obstacle to be overcome, but as a reflection of who they are.
I doubt that most parents want their children to become this kind of adult. If not, then their first task as parents is to convey to their child that their love comes with no strings attached.
Such a foundation is the best basis to raise self-disciplined and empathic human beings. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-27/man-child-no-conditions-need-apply | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/7ee936986df841982b02ca54ff28c74b1e6e62226c51598b558fb02eb4dfeb86.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:49:31 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | PH-driver Marlon Lynch, who claims he is wrongfully accused of the murder of nine-year-old Cyon Paul, says he will not rest until Paul’s real killer is found.
Lynch, who has been in hiding since Sunday after an attempt was made on his life, said he has b | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fdriver-seeks-police-protection.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Marlon%20Lynch.jpg?itok=Xr3j9CVw | en | null | Driver seeks police protection | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | PH-driver Marlon Lynch, who claims he is wrongfully accused of the murder of nine-year-old Cyon Paul, says he will not rest until Paul’s real killer is found.
Lynch, who has been in hiding since Sunday after an attempt was made on his life, said he has been unable to work since the false accusations began circulating that he killed the child.
Lynch said he was very upset over media reports which described him as armed and dangerous. He also said he was held for questioning by police.
“I was very alarmed when I saw this because I went to the police of my own free will. I told the police everything I know and they know how to find me. They know that I did not kill that boy,” Lynch said. Saying he survived two attempts on his life, Lynch said he was praying that everything will go back to normal.
“Right now I lying low but I want the police to offer some protection to me. Since they tried to run me off the road on Sunday, I have been in hiding,” he said. His mother, Wendy Lynch, went to the San Fernando Police Station yesterday to beg for police protection for her son.
Contacted yesterday senior superintendent of the Southern Division Adeline St Louis-Pesnell said police officers have been trying to restore peace in the La Romaine community. She said a new police post will be opened in the area from today.
A senior homicide officer said they have been in contact with Lynch and were looking to get more leads into the murder.
Anyone with information on Paul’s killing can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS. Paul, of Byron Street, La Romaine, was shot by a stray bullet shortly after 9 pm on Friday.
Paul was a pupil of the La Romaine RC School and was expected to move up to Standard Two when the new term opens in September. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/driver-seeks-police-protection | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/ad006b345b310ad9fed168301a87f8930178682f09fb0e159dcf85e45fe830f4.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:49:02 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | After more than three decades of service to the bank and to the sector, deputy chief executive of First Citizens, Sharon Christopher, transitioned into retirement this week, with her contribution to the bank’s development being lauded.
In a statement to | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fbusiness%2F2016-08-27%2Ffirst-citizens-lauds-retiring-banker-sharon-christopher.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Sharon%20Christopher_0.jpg?itok=SU8D8veD | en | null | First Citizens lauds retiring banker Sharon Christopher | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | After more than three decades of service to the bank and to the sector, deputy chief executive of First Citizens, Sharon Christopher, transitioned into retirement this week, with her contribution to the bank’s development being lauded.
In a statement to the T&T Guardian, First Citizens said: “Via her input, we were able to receive numerous awards such as: World Finance, Euromoney, Latin Finance, Global Finance more than one decade.”
She also contributed to the strategic direction of the bank and the deepening of its footprint within some Caricom-member countries. Referring specifically to its Costa Rica operations, First Citizens said Christopher played a pivotal role in ensuring that the bank “cemented” operations there. Operations in Costa Rica, according to the statement, will facilitate the group’s objective of deepening its footprint in Central America.
“If this is realised, (deepening the bank’s footprint in Central America) First Citizens will be open to transporting itself and financial services to manufacturers and traders down the South American continent.”
Described by her colleagues as one of the key pillars of the bank and a fearless leader, Christopher also contributed to what is considered to be the largest Initial Public Offering in the history of T&T.
The bank said: “She was instrumental in growing First Citizens from a local commercial bank to a financial powerhouse with subsidiaries and a solid presence in Barbados, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Costa Rica. Sharon is the epitome of authentic leadership and she was able to demonstrate and inculcate this throughout the Group.
“We owe much of our growth and success to Sharon Christopher, her commitment to First Citizens can never be questioned. All of us at First Citizens will miss Sharon, the lawyer, the consummate story teller, the fearless leader, the patriot, and the integrity champion as she transitions to her new chapter in life. We wish her all success.”
Apart from contributing to the banking sector, she passed on her knowledge through contributing to the Institute of Banking and Finance.
OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Instrumental in setting up the merged entity known as First Citizens which saved the jobs of hundreds of employees from National Commercial Bank, Workers Bank and Trinidad Co-operative Bank
• In 2004 she was instrumental in the bank issuing Bonds on the international market
• Contributed to setting up First Citizens Trustee Services which functions as a Trustee for the bank’s corporate clients
• Played a major role in rebranding the group in 2005 to reflect the "new" organisation - not just three Banks coming together but a group of well established companies under one umbrella called First Citizens
• A key player in the acquisition of CMMB in 2009
• The introduction of profit sharing for the bargaining unit staff allowing the employees to share in the profits they helped produce
• Instrumental in having the first Women's Conference in T&T which started four years ago. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2016-08-27/first-citizens-lauds-retiring-banker-sharon-christopher | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/dc95ba61e1bebcccf229085c9678bec17d7c0d8911c91a012a904c46238792eb.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:51:32 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Silvestre de Souza signalled his intention to retain the recently-formatted jockeys’ championship with a ubiquitous treble at Epsom, Monday. Before play started SDS had been caught and passed by erstwhile challenger Jim Crowley.
Resolve of the diminutive | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-31%2Fone-too-many-brown.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Jeffrey%20Ross_347.jpg?itok=2yfoDW2p | en | null | One Too Many for Brown | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Silvestre de Souza signalled his intention to retain the recently-formatted jockeys’ championship with a ubiquitous treble at Epsom, Monday. Before play started SDS had been caught and passed by erstwhile challenger Jim Crowley.
Resolve of the diminutive Brazilian is impressive, we recognise what this championship means to Silvestre but, hopefully, challenges will be maintained for the next seven weeks, punters wont have to complain about being on 100 per cent triers!
We’ll certainly be keeping tabs on the exciting situation and landing a few winners if indeed de Souza, Crowley, James Boyle and outsider Oisin Murphy give everything in their quest for statistical glory.
Crowley’s agent, Tony Hind, is determined to have another champion on his books, Richard Hughes was his flagship and so he knows just how much his man needs to achieve. Both title leaders are scheduled for Lingfield today where One Too Many is top-weight for a nursery over five furlongs of good to firm on the back of two promising efforts.
Two-year-olds need to run three times and be placed in the frame which means first four; One Too Many is qualified, clear best-in and napped, again!
Trainer David Brown dropped One Too Many back to five at Beverley last month after this Zebedee filly had improved considerably on a quiet debut, beaten only three-quarters of a length at Nottingham.
A replication of that run should suffice, this is an extremely moderate race and you can bet owner John Fretwell, a well-known heavy-hitter with his juveniles, will be reaching deep into those long pockets.
Mark Johnston and Joe Fanning will be expecting twice-raced, clear top-rated, Celestation, to oblige in the Maiden Auction Fillies’ Stakes over seven furlongs and at good to firm Bath don’t miss Ernststavroblofeld when he attempts to supplement recent Yarmouth gains in the Novice Stakes over an extended five furlongs. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-31/one-too-many-brown | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/4471c8c57437b24a3d2ffc28b46ee5c8215a16107c131e68a1fdd7bec9377926.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:50:06 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fpublications%2Fxtreme-tt-2016-08-26.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | xtreme tt 2016-08-26 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Transforming thinking through education “Investing in improving innovation quality is essential for closing the innovation divide.
Minister concerned about oil spills Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre says she is extremely concerned about recent oilspills, particularly those affecting fishing communities in her La Brea constituency.
Floods in Debe and PoS Heavy rains caused flash flooding in several parts of the country yesterday.
Cat got your tongue? If you have ever been licked by a cat, the first thing you probably noticed was the rough texture of its tongue.
Women urged to leave abusive relationships Be proactive and not reactive. Words of advice to women in abusive relationships and homes by Madinah House president, Lydia Choate.
Youth spokesman urges: Put young people on state boards More young people should be on state boards, says vice-chairperson for policy, advocacy and projects of the Commonwealth Youth Council, Nikoli Edwards.
Playing for Keeps The film Play the Devil, by writer/director Maria Govan and producer Abigail Hadeed, is simultaneously an exploration of the socio-political issues underpinning T&T and the Caribbean, a coming...
Garcia looking forward to Guatemala clash Holland-based T&T winger Levi Garcia is hoping to pick up from where he left off when the T&T Soca Warriors resume their 2018 Concacaf Group C Semifinal Round World Cup qualifying campaign... | http://www.guardian.co.tt/publications/xtreme-tt-2016-08-26 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/de53cc6b746c525c3bf64fcc1a590d9c5f4705223c8483cf3e9cce46186f99ac.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:23 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Jehue Gordon won the 400 metres hurdles at the World Junior Championships in 2010. He became the World Champion in 2013 at the age of 21. He was one of our brightest prospects for a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
His coach is none other than Dr Ian | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-26%2Fgordon-short-changed-his-coach.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Gordon short-changed by his coach? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Jehue Gordon won the 400 metres hurdles at the World Junior Championships in 2010. He became the World Champion in 2013 at the age of 21. He was one of our brightest prospects for a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
His coach is none other than Dr Ian Hypolite, Chef de Mission/ESPN commentator. In 2013, Dr Hypolite was selected as the Coach of the Year by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC). Clearly, he can coach.
After Gordon’s first-round heat in which he placed last (eighth, according to some zealously-patriotic journalists) in a time of 49.98 seconds, we learnt that this was the first time he had clocked under 50 seconds for the 2016 season.
To put this in perspective, the Olympic qualifying time for the 400 metres hurdles is 49.40. At the Beijing World Championship almost exactly one year ago, he exited in the first round placing seventh with a time of 49.91. He ran 50.44 at the Sagicor National Championships in June.
Two questions arise. If Gordon was in such poor form, unable to run anywhere close to the qualifying time (much less his personal best of 47.69) for the last year, why was he on the team? Same question if his poor form was due to injury. (Oh, I forget, our goal was to send the “largest contingent ever” to Rio.)
Given his poor form, surely that’s when he would have needed his coach full-time. Could it be that Dr Hypolite’s other time-consuming duties denied Gordon his coach when he was needed the most?
Noel Kalicharan | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-26/gordon-short-changed-his-coach | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/caf91ec994ab29f0ea1d220570c92518476d4ed7d8d5170d6970fbd1a7500242.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T10:48:23 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcovers%2Fsaturday-27th-august-2016.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Saturday 27th August, 2016 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Thrill of victory, agony of defeat As memories of Rio 2016 fade, the sting of negativity surrounding T&T’s performance persists. There was no shortage of puerile, less-than-clever memes targeting gymnast Marisa Dick.
Take charge of your real estate One day after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley called on the police to do more to improve the detection rate, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon read the riot act to divisional heads, calling...
Dog pound shut down for good Only one stray dog was seen lingering around the south city yesterday following the permanent closure of the San Fernando pound by Mayor Kazim Hosein.
$1m assistance for ‘beached’ fishermen Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced yesterday that Cabinet had approved a $1 million “assistance” for fisherman who have lost earnings as a result of a string of fish kills in the Gulf of...
Rowley welcomes crime talks with Kamla, warns: Collaboration key to success In the face of calls from various quarters for his Government to do more to fight the criminal elements as the murder toll approaches 300, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday assured the...
Video evidence tendered in court A 22-minute video recording of murder accused Rajaee Ali being interviewed by police was admitted into evidence as the preliminary enquiry into the killing of former special State prosecutor Dana...
Devaluation and economic development To date the discussion has focussed on whether after a drop in foreign exchange earnings it is more efficient and effective to stabilise a small open economy via a devaluation or, instead, fiscal...
Driver seeks police protection PH-driver Marlon Lynch, who claims he is wrongfully accused of the murder of nine-year-old Cyon Paul, says he will not rest until Paul’s real killer is found. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/covers/saturday-27th-august-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/cb13f43b6ffee95bbc4932c590c378622fcb0e029ececa299ea055d87f054213.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:51:14 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | On Monday, a wandering reptile brought rush hour traffic to a halt along the South-bound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway as it made its way across the highway near the Caroni Swamp.
Luckily for the four-foot long caiman, traffic came to a stop and a | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-31%2Fhorse-killed-after-caroni-collision-so-motorists-advised-beware-crossing-caimans.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Stray%20horse.jpg?itok=O2F-7Dfq | en | null | Horse killed after Caroni collision so motorists advised: Beware of crossing caimans | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | On Monday, a wandering reptile brought rush hour traffic to a halt along the South-bound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway as it made its way across the highway near the Caroni Swamp.
Luckily for the four-foot long caiman, traffic came to a stop and a motorist had to use unusual methods to coax the frightened reptile back to its natural habitat.
The Uriah Butler Highway separates the marshland of Caroni Swamp.
A video posted on Facebook on Monday drew comments from several motorists who complained about the frequency of caimans crossing the roadway and disrupting traffic in the Caroni area.
An officer at the Caroni Police Station said animal and reptile crossings were rampant in Caroni. These include cows, horses, snakes and crabs.
Senior game warden, Steve Seepersad, said while the area where the caiman was seen was a natural habitat for its kind, he believed there was a way to keep them off the roadway.
He added: “These are wildlife and that area is a part of their natural habitat but the regional corporation responsible for the area or even the Ministry of Works can do something about it.
“They can put up a wall or erect some kind of barrication to prevent them from coming out on the roadway.
“There is nothing else that can be done in respect of a natural habitat like that. If you remove them they will come back.”
He is warning enthusiastic members of the public against approaching the animals.
“It would be dangerous to try to remove it, especially the females which are very aggressive. In order for a caiman to bite someone who is standing, it has to turn sideways. Then it will turn and snap at you, grabbing your clothing, and when you try to raise your foot they will grab your foot.”
Unlike the caiman, a horse trying to cross the roadway along Caroni North Bank Road on Sunday night was not so fortunate.
It was hit by a vehicle, suffered a broken leg and had to be put down.
“Officials from the zoo were contacted and they put the animal to sleep because it was a full grown horse and to approach it would have been very risky. When an animal is in distress like that it can kick out at unsuspecting people,” Seepersad said,
He said in cases like those, where a wandering animal was hit by a vehicle the owner rarely came forward.
“They can be charged for failing to corral their livestocks and for that reason many people do not come forward to claim their animals,” Seepersad said.
The T&T Guardian was told the dead horse was butchered and shared among passersby who stopped near the site.
‘Be more vigilant’
Contacted yesterday for comment, co-ordinator of the TTPS Strategic Road Safety Project, officer Brent Batson, advised drivers to be more vigilant on the roads at night.
“Most incidents where drivers hit animals occur at night. One of the biggest challenges drivers have, while we might look out for pedestrians and cyclists, is to look out for animals when driving through rural areas. You can’t let your guard down at any time,” Batson said.
He also warned drivers against ‘overdriving’ their headlights.
“What this means, is that if you are using low beams and they are showing you 100 feet in front and you are driving at 80 miles per hour, by the time you see an animal, you might have all of 20 feet left before you hit it.
“It is advisable to use your high beams in rural areas, unless there is a vehicle coming from the other side,” he said. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-31/horse-killed-after-caroni-collision-so-motorists-advised-beware-crossing-caimans | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/1af08fe5d9c7ff966f2689be652f2b34d810887d4ba6de588f828f0a5ab35ec8.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:50:51 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | T&T’s Gershon Griffith and Jeremy Rudolpho have earned the country’s first four medals at the Pan American Sambo Championship, currently taking place in Paraguay.
Representing T&T for the first time, Griffith won a gold medal in the Combat Sambo | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-29%2Fgold-griffith-pan-am-sambo.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-3_261.jpg?itok=gMOZZaxA | en | null | Gold for Griffith in Pan Am sambo | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | T&T’s Gershon Griffith and Jeremy Rudolpho have earned the country’s first four medals at the Pan American Sambo Championship, currently taking place in Paraguay.
Representing T&T for the first time, Griffith won a gold medal in the Combat Sambo in the 52kg contest when he defeated Brazilian Dain Rian in the final yesterday.
Only the day before Griffith who hails from Arima, received silver although being beaten in the final of the 52 kg Sport Sambo fight contest by El Salvador’s Che Diaz. He showed early intentions of a medal at the championship when he produced an impressive display to defeat hometown favourite Morales Guzman to advance on day two of the tournament on Friday.
Rudolpho, another newcomer to the T&T team, faced a tough semi-final contest against world champion Mancuso Vincent in the 100kg of the United States which he lost but received bronze.
He received a bye into the semis where he gave a good account of himself but proved to be no match for the world champion fighter.
Yesterday another T&T fighter Keron Bourne was beaten in the semi finals Ansola Jose of Colombia in a 62kg contest, a result that earned him a bronze medal.
The team, without Joash Walkins, the Pan American and World Championship silver medallist, was uncertain of a medal in Paraguay although manager and coach Jason Fraser had warned of the expectations of the newcomers. Walkins sustained an injury to his knee during a training session and has been put on rest by doctors, only a week after he pulled off the fastest victory in the sport in T&T by beating Colombian Mike Soto in 23 seconds at the last Ruff N Tuff Sambo Championship at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo.
Fraser told the Guardian yesterday that members of his team had to put their hands into their pockets to purchase tickets for the tournament and pleaded with corporate T&T to support his team and the sport financially, noting there is a lot of benefit to receive from it on the international stage.
The T&T sambo team is currently battling for the right to be among the top five countries in the Pan Am region. They received that honour by virtue of being ranked fourth in 2012 and second in 2013 before achieving the top ranked position in 2014 following an all-round performance, but Fraser said the team fell out of the top five after their failure to carry a full team at the tournament last year. The curtains come down on the championships later today. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-29/gold-griffith-pan-am-sambo | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/10166ec80fccb32cf13f68ced7a89fbc4888bf30261c7cfc073f4f6cd2d89218.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:50:41 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Team T&T did not disappoint at the XXII Goodwill Swimming Championship which was held in St Lucia, recently coming away with their third consecutive win in as many years.
The competition is designed to foster the development of swimmers who have not | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-29%2Ftt-swimmers-do-goodwill-hat-trick.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-4_228.jpg?itok=Aw2u6vhA | en | null | T&T swimmers do Goodwill hat-trick | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Team T&T did not disappoint at the XXII Goodwill Swimming Championship which was held in St Lucia, recently coming away with their third consecutive win in as many years.
The competition is designed to foster the development of swimmers who have not yet competed at Carifta level or higher in the current year.
Being champions last year at the meet held in T&T, meant that there was a degree of pressure to hold on to the title which in the past had been primarily dominated by Suriname.
T&T completed the hat-trick ahead of Suriname, Barbados, hosts St Lucia, the Bahamas and Guyana.
T&T won 131 medals (51 gold, 45 silver and 35 bronze) for 1, 465 points, well ahead of Suriname’s 1,126 points from 102 medals (39 gold, 33 silver and 30 bronze).
Leading the points for Team T&T was prolific swimmer, Zarek Wilson, swimming his last year in the 9-10 age-group, and medaling in all of his 13 swims, breaking no less than four individual records in the process (two games and two national).
Wilson replaced Zachary Taylor’s 2015 boys’ 50m freestyle record of 29.16 seconds with a new time of 28.26.
Then, in the 50 metre breaststroke he stopped the clock in 37.59 seconds erasing countryman Riquelio Joseph’s record of 38.18.
His two new national age-group records came when he lowered his own 200m freestyle record from two minutes, 17.89 seconds to two minutes, 17.34 seconds, and in the 200m individual medley he set the bar at two minutes, 36.91 seconds down from two minutes 38.04 seconds.
Outstanding swims from the other male swimmers came from Zachary Anthony (Eight & Under), Jonathan Constantine (13-14) and Leshem Morris (15-17), all of whom won the High Points trophy award in their age groups.
Standout among the girls was Zoe Anthony who was rewarded with the High Points trophy in the 9-10 age-group.
T&T also dominated the relays winning 16 of the 28 finals contested which secured the team’s routing of all comers.
In addition, three championship records were set by the 9–10 boys, 400m medley relay team, which comprised of Nikoli Blackman, Wilson, Stachys Harley and Josiah Changar, who were able to erase their compatriots’ 2015 mark of five minutes, 13.62 seconds with a new standard of five minutes, 11.47 seconds.
The depth of the team cannot go unnoticed however, as every single member of the 40-strong swim team medaled in one or more of the events they partook in, ranging from three to as much as thirteen.
This was quite a feat and a just reward for parents who, for the first time in recent history, had to fully fund every aspect of their child’s participation at the meet in St Lucia.
Despite this, the Goodwill swimmers who had been the incubator of Olympians Dylan Carter and Sharntelle McClean, was able to continue its tradition of excellence.
Officials accompanying the team were, manager Denise Farray-Constantine, head coach Mosi Denoon, assistant coaches Patrick Loney Jr, Mark Alexis and Leslyn Alexander, chaperones were Denise Williams-Blackman, Keith Matamoro and Henry John. Able support also came from an almost 100-strong contingent of parents, relatives and well-wishers from T&T who made the trip to St Lucia for the meet.
The XXII Goodwill 2016 Swim Meet concluded with a gala dinner and award function at the St. Lucia Golf course. Next year, it will be held in Guyana.
Final medal standings
Country G S B Total
T&T 51 45 35 131
Suriname 39 33 30 102
Barbados 16 17 19 52
St Lucia 11 6 19 36
Guyana 3 5 7 15
Bahamas 2 12 9 23
Final points standings
1. T&T – 1, 465 pts
2. Suriname – 1,126
3. Barbados – 741
4. St Lucia – 681
5. Bahamas – 586
6. Guyana -373
Age-Group High Points winners>
Eight & Under Girls:
1. Kenyah Deane (B’dos) – 39pts
2. Heidi Baker (B’dos) – 33
3. Passion Daniel (Bah) – 27
Eight & Under Boys:
1. Zachary Anthony (T&T) – 41
2. Ismael Holtuin (Sur) & Theron Herelle (St Lucia) – 35
9-10 Girls:
1. Zoe Anthony (T&T) – 70
2. Adia Deane (B’dos) – 59
3. Naima Hazell (St Lucia) -49
9-10 Boys:
1. Zarek Wilson (T&T) - 86
2. Nikoli Blackman (T&T) – 57
3. Josiah Changar (T&T) – 56
11-12 Girls:
1. Charrisa Brown (Sur) – 42
2. Jadyn George (Guy) – 39
3. Danielle Clarke (B’dos) – 30
11-12 Boys:
1. Jeno Heyns (Sur) – 85
2. Prayen Naipal (Sur) – 63
3. Niel Skinner (B’dos) – 53
13-14 Girls:
1. Tanya Fernald (Sur) – 86
2. Emily Sastrowitomo (Sur) – 52
3. Kami Morean (T&T) – 44
13-14 Boys:
1. Jonathan Constantine (T&T) – 66
2. Ezekiel Wilson (T&T) – 48
3. Jeremiah Vianen (Sur) – 39
15-17 Girls:
1. Anjali Rahan (Sur) – 58
2. Rebecca Lashley (B’dos) – 57
3. Michelle Willoughby (B’dos) – 52
15-17 Boys:
1. Leshem Morris (T&T) – 64
2. Jair Telting (Sur) - 62.5
3. Roche Veldkamp (Sur) – 61.5 | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-29/tt-swimmers-do-goodwill-hat-trick | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/fab4ae3f14ca844eced07284ce3d4cfd19f80e5c008be0c514756ba5230f01f2.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:50:07 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has agreed to meet with Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and her delegation on Friday at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, to discuss rising crime in the country.
The talks are scheduled even as the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-30%2Fpm-invites-kamla-crime-talks.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | PM invites Kamla for crime talks | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has agreed to meet with Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and her delegation on Friday at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, to discuss rising crime in the country.
The talks are scheduled even as the National Security Council meets today to discuss a video in circulation from one of the country’s major criminal gangs, Rasta City gang, displaying a cache of weapons usually used by soldiers on the combat fields and moves by the Ministry of National Security to put more pressure on divisional commanders of the Police Service to be accountable for increasing crime detection in their respective areas.
In a letter, dated August 24 titled “Crime Crisis”, Persad-Bissessar requested an urgent meeting with Rowley and members of their respective national security teams so that they could engage in a “non-partisan dialogue on a way forward to combat serious crime.”
Persad-Bissessar said she hoped the meeting would blossom into a joint anti-crime initiative informed by representatives from both sides of the bench and, with the input of key national security stakeholders.
Yesterday, Rowley sent a letter to the Opposition Leader inviting her and her team for the meeting. However, it gave a deadline of the end of today to submit an agenda of items to be raised in the meeting.
Just last week at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, Rowley assured the population that the structure of the State to respond to those involved in crime was intact, vigorous and on the front burner.
He said he also welcomed talks with Persad-Bissessar on the issues, saying, however, that he hopes that it will not be used to score political points.
One of the topics that may be possibly be discussed is the issue of extending the life of the Bail (Amendment) Act and the Anti-Gang legislation.
In a previous release, Persad-Bissessar had expressed concerns that the Attorney General, Faris Al-Rawi, failed to be honest about the empirical data about how many people are in jail without bail under the existing law and who would become entitled to apply for bail post August 15.
Two points, she noted was that: Al-Rawi does not have the statistical data to show how many persons were denied bail under the Anti-Gang Act and Bail (Amendment) Acts and secondly, the release of prisoners who are on charges of kidnapping for ransom could be a security risk to the country after August 15.
She stated that Government’s rush to renew the law relating to the Anti-Gang Act and Bail (Amendment) Acts without any examination and analysis of the empirical data must be condemned.
“On what basis was the Parliament being asked to consider the renewal of these laws in the absence of such basic and vital information?” Persad-Bissessar said, in a previous release. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-30/pm-invites-kamla-crime-talks | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/61fb3836e4a15249785ae21eb4b4f259cbe9f82177b6c1c6fbdd1bdcc76ab9cd.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:50:16 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | In a few days’ time we would again be marking the anniversary of our Independence with the usual parade of our armed forces, the bestowing of national awards to hopefully deserving recipients, and of course, a national holiday. When on August 31, 1962 we | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-29%2Fhow-far-have-we-reached.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | How far have we reached? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | In a few days’ time we would again be marking the anniversary of our Independence with the usual parade of our armed forces, the bestowing of national awards to hopefully deserving recipients, and of course, a national holiday. When on August 31, 1962 we lowered the Union Jack to replace it with our Red, Black and White, we proudly proclaimed our watchwords, Discipline, Tolerance and Production, and we sang with gusto our National Anthem “.... here every creed and race find an equal place...”
Our populace chanted exuberantly, “Massa Day Done...We Freeeee!” But how do we today respect our National Anthem? By sitting down or walking about when it is being played or sung? By still flying a tattered National Flag?
Yet, after 54 years of Independence, how free are we? What have we done to promulgate and promote our watchwords, to fashion our lives to exhibit them in our relationships with others? How much have parents, the many religious bodies, our schools done? Has our academic-driven education system found time to inculcate positive values, mores and ethics in their charges in the Social Studies component of the curriculum?
Having been involved in the education system for many, many years, I cringe when I hear of private lessons now being offered to children from Standard One in primary schools, sometimes by the very teachers who are being paid to teach them during the day.
It would seem that all children are being taught today is how to regurgitate answers via rote learning to pass exams, be it SEA, CXC, CAPE, and at UTT in a frantic quest to gain certificates, degrees, doctorates in order to acquire the highest paid jobs. Do teachers today know that teaching is only achieved when true learning has taken place? What of functional literacy? Can anyone say what has happened to our watchwords? Where is discipline being encouraged? In the home? In the community? In the schools? When we were growing up, anyone in the village could have corrected us. What happens today? Most likely the corrected one may turn on you, or the parent or relative might certainly do, with sometimes deleterious consequences.
Many of our schools today, especially at the secondary level, are nests of indiscipline and mayhem, with teachers being afraid to go to their classes, much more to correct or reprimand errant students. Indiscipline seem to have infiltrated almost every stratum of our society. And I ask again, how have we displayed tolerance? We only have to look at our criminal courts where someone could not tolerate the action or non action of another, and took matters in his own hands. Almost every day we hear of murders, now more than ever by guns. I say no more of that. How tolerant are we of the elderly, the sick in our hospitals and health centres, our special-needs children, the vagrants, when we spurn them in their needs?
What of production? What are we producing today? With the wealth with which our nation has been blessed over the years, how have we maximised these blessings? Mediocrity has become pervasive in almost in every sector of the public service where customer service is a foreign terminology. Be it In the police service, the health service, customs, same khaki pants.
Our country has been again blessed with rich soil everywhere. Almost everyone long ago grew something in their backyard, no matter how small the space. Plants blossomed in empty KLIM and oil tins. The advent of LID, DEWD, Cepep, URP, food cards and social welfare put paid to all of those activities. We are now dependent.
Everywhere in the countryside one can see abandoned estates where once prolific cocoa, coffee and other produce flourished. What has happened to our agriculture? I have been offering seedlings of dwarf pommecythere, saigan, pommegranate and plantain suckers, pumpkin, and few people show interest. When will we begin to grow much of our food again? Will we ever be able to encourage our young people to become interested in agriculture?
How will we be able to do away with the corruption, nepotism, avarice, selfishness, apathy, jealousy and heartlessness? When did caring for our fellowman, compassion, empathy, consideration, respect for each person and looking out for one another abandon us? Have we become a nation of “I-specialists,” thinking only of me, myself and I?
I pray to God that He will, in His Goodness and Mercy, forgive us our many, many sins of commission and omission, that He will touch our hearts, our minds, our souls and return us to obeying the two Commandments of His Son: “To love the Lord with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength, and to Love our neighbours as ourselves.”
I pray that our people would come back together to rebuild our beautiful country in every aspect, in love, patriotism and godliness toward a much better place for our children and for posterity.
Eva David-Swain
Coalmine, Sangre Grande | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-29/how-far-have-we-reached | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/12be6d919904e7f565a306aad87ac2c3f4b1c6e85f82021e2551231b31ee9a04.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:51:45 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Dear national neighbour, as you ought to know, there is a mosquito problem in our country. Some neighbours are exercising diligence to rid their homes and businesses of mosquito breeding grounds. But many neighbours are, however, not exercising much | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-30%2Fcollective-effort-wipe-out-mosquitoes.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Collective effort to wipe out mosquitoes | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Dear national neighbour, as you ought to know, there is a mosquito problem in our country. Some neighbours are exercising diligence to rid their homes and businesses of mosquito breeding grounds. But many neighbours are, however, not exercising much diligence. In fact, many are dismissive of the problem.
Public sector service building occupants are among this group. In light of lack of fluidity to treat with the mosquito problem, the country’s mosquito problem is growing. Thus, I beseech you good neighbour to get up and do your part in a collective effort to make our national community mosquito free.
Please do the following.
Scan your yard and house, your business premises and compound, for open containers and pockets of space holding stagnant water. Empty and dump or overturn the containers and fill up water pockets that cannot be overturned. Check your guttering to see that it’s not clogged and that it’s angled to assist full rainwater runoff. Check that all potable water tanks and containers are tightly sealed and that excess water is not collecting to create mosquito breeding grounds.
If your outdoor drains are holding stagnant water, unclog your drains. Report to the local government office if your public street drain holds stagnant water. These simple steps can decimate the national mosquito problem. This work is necessary on a national scale, since mosquitoes are known to have a working travel range of one to seven miles. And mosquitoes are commonly brought into communities in private and public vehicles when drivers are not diligent.
There’s a proliferation of mosquitoes because this highly educated nation of people are trained to wait for government to send state employed workers to deal with problems they face rather than cooperate and deal with difficulties for themselves. What would it take for people who live on the same street on every populated street in the country to come together, and teamwork to clear their streets and their respective properties of mosquito breeding grounds? In one week they could clear drains, clear roof guttering, search out and discard receptacles holding stagnant water and place mosquito dunks in stagnant waterways not used to supply potable water and too large to empty of water. If such a campaign is kept up for a month the nation’s mosquito population will significantly decrease and with it the risk of contracting diseases. Is there a social will or political will to decimate mosquitoes and contraction of so-called mosquito diseases? Or is the nation too comfortable to care to take action?
If you wait for government's understaffed vector control unit to eradicate mosquitoes national wide, you'll be waiting in vain.
B Joseph, via email | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-30/collective-effort-wipe-out-mosquitoes | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f923c7be2ccd6ab6485e02f16198a747c4067a39c8925a6fda5728f4bdb7da65.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:50:31 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Track and field was the biggest attraction in Rio. That was not unexpected. The world seemed ready for the likes of Usain Bolt and the Jamaican contingent, eagerly awaiting challenges from our own cadre of track stars, plus the USA, Canada, Bahrain, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-29%2Fwe-must-work-positives-rio.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-5_186.jpg?itok=OyReL76e | en | null | We must work on positives from Rio | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Track and field was the biggest attraction in Rio. That was not unexpected. The world seemed ready for the likes of Usain Bolt and the Jamaican contingent, eagerly awaiting challenges from our own cadre of track stars, plus the USA, Canada, Bahrain, Qatar and the Bahamas.
The Caribbean commentary team provided only superficial information on the athletes, a factor which deprived the fans of knowing how things behind closed door have been going.
Were there injuries? What was the current form of the athletes? By that time, the experience of training at the venue was of paramount importance to those who were fine tuning physically and mentally for their events.
Some had previously predicted the results which were based upon the lead up times and distances of the participants, based upon the performances during the period of the last two years, and most importantly, any surprises which may show up.
By now, Thema Williams was temporarily forgotten and levels of optimism had reached an imaginary proportion of a huge medal haul which the NOC president was expecting from this time onwards.
The tension in the T&T camp was never discussed by either Alexis Nunes, Shaka Hislop or especially Dr. Ian Hypolite, the Caribbean commentators, so we all crossed our fingers that all was well. TV, local and foreign, did not report on incidents within camp.
They were all positives with Mike Phelps being the super star on the verge of being the greatest swimmer ever or maybe the most successful athlete in history.
On viewing the local athletes in their events, their times, body language and eventual results sent many messages to us, not in a negative way.
For instance, our male sprinters had no evidence of reaching below ten seconds or 20.2 seconds in either the 100 or 200 metres.
Statistics may have exposed the fans to a few of the opponents who have been doing well, but, really, were we expected to match these lads, following their times?
What I actually saw were some very satisfactory efforts from Machel Cedenio, Rondel Sorillo, Michele Lee Ahye, and our women’s relay team.
The fact is that none was able to win a medal, although their times were comparable with the World class opponents.
Our men sprinters Bledman, Richard Thompson, Callendar all traveled to Rio without any quality times from their performances within the past year, hence the reason why much was not expected.
This is why there was need for on the spot analysis following their races which could spell out their shortcomings, whether they be poor judgmental pacing, absence of early speed from the blocks, failing to handle the curve in the 200 metres. Or was it that this group were just superior to our lads this time around.
This is where Dr. Hypolithe became essential. His vast knowledge and experience was able to pick apart the mistakes by our athletes and detect reasons for their inability to match strides with the more advanced ones.
He actually spoke at length about moments when late starting from the blocks, taking the long distance by not hugging the lane on the inside. I expected that errors like baton changing, failing to hold lanes, would have been adequately performed, seeing the we had four years to master the key aspects of their events.
Only good things could be said about the field representatives Cleopetra Borel, and Kishorn Walcott, and we should commend them in the same way we did to Cedenio, Lee Ahye, Njisane Phillips, canoe participant Ms. Chow, and Dylan Carter.
I now look forward for constructive critique coming from the coaches, with the hope of recognizing reasons for substandard performances, the mental and psychological issues, some of which may be detected after hearing unofficial comments from some of the athletes themselves.
I do not plan to explain to the fans that failure may bring consolation to the participants, but it is my solid view that selection to participate in the Olympic games is simply an opportunity to represent one’s country.
The joy and satisfaction comes as a result of their quality of performance. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-29/we-must-work-positives-rio | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/f27987913e454e9918c070c636dac16f1f602536639b535c213dc9cdec375e16.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:49:23 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | I have often heard that we need to close off the borders where illegal arms and ammunition are concerned.
There are only a few official ports of entry in Trinidad, and with the Coast Guard running patrols we are supposed to detect any criminal elements | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fletters%2F2016-08-27%2Fhow-come-few-caught-guns-gulf.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | How come few caught with guns in Gulf? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | I have often heard that we need to close off the borders where illegal arms and ammunition are concerned.
There are only a few official ports of entry in Trinidad, and with the Coast Guard running patrols we are supposed to detect any criminal elements selling guns or any other contraband.
It all started to makes sense to me when, two weeks ago, a friend told me he purchased an illegal firearm for $13,000.
I tried to tell him this was a bad idea but because he was held up three times before within the last decade, and because he has made an application for a Firearms Users License over eight years ago, without any idea if he would ever “qualify” for one, he said frustration drove him to this stage.
I’m not in his position so I prefer not to judge him.
But when I asked him who he bought it from, his answer brought a lot of clarity on the nation’s crime situation to me. He bought it, he said, from a member of the protective services and the officer had an arsenal of weapons to choose from: pistols, revolvers, AR15s and the likes.
Thinking about this some more, I realised that fighting crime in T&T is like catching flies with Chinese chopsticks.
It’s almost impossible, because the corruption comes from very high up. While this might just be an isolated officer, I often wondered why very few have ever been caught with guns in the Gulf. There has been numerous cocaine shipments seized, but never many arms and ammunition. Makes you wonder who really controlling the gun trade in T&T. So while our politicians are fighting each other back and forth, and making crime their ticket to either get in, or put out of power, we the decent citizens must be held ransom by armed to the teeth bandits and murderers.
Markie Ceasar,
Curepe | http://www.guardian.co.tt/letters/2016-08-27/how-come-few-caught-guns-gulf | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/6e2162ce5511cf6e11c9d54e8a764aaaf6cf08420d2768ff438e5373d9b67c2f.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T10:50:11 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcovers%2Ftuesday-30th-august-2016.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Tuesday 30th August, 2016 | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Murder-suicide rocks Trincity The worst fears of Rosemarie Blackburn’s two adult children were realised yesterday when they heard a single gunshot in their home and within seconds discovered their mother dead lying on the...
Gold for Griffith in Pan Am sambo T&T’s Gershon Griffith and Jeremy Rudolpho have earned the country’s first four medals at the Pan American Sambo Championship, currently taking place in Paraguay.
No Man’s Land is already lost There was a lot of criticism about the lack of transparency surrounding the No-Man’s-Land Sandals deal. Sea level rise however, a far greater threat, took place in full view.
Playing for Keeps The film Play the Devil, by writer/director Maria Govan and producer Abigail Hadeed, is simultaneously an exploration of the socio-political issues underpinning T&T and the Caribbean, a coming...
Women urged to leave abusive relationships Be proactive and not reactive. Words of advice to women in abusive relationships and homes by Madinah House president, Lydia Choate.
Flooded out for 3 straight days While most people snuggled under the warmth of their sheets around 1 am yesterday, residents of Chester Street, Debe, were cold and wet as flood waters rose in their homes for the third...
Mom must wait for case hearing A clerical court error may have caused a 34-year-old mother of seven to lose custody of two of her children.
IMF questions Barbados borrowing from central bank The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has noted the inconsistency of Barbados maintaining a stable exchange rate and financing its fiscal deficit by borrowing from the island’s... | http://www.guardian.co.tt/covers/tuesday-30th-august-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/2e8a4ab3560744c6a64b214e3b64df418ca8fdc7562bc294b6a6cae5d801e634.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:50:00 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Fourty-one-year-old Camika Mc Letchie holds a bachelors in psychology from the University of St Andrews and is now about to do her masters at the Caribbean Nazarene Collage in Santa Cruz.
A clinical therapist by profession, it is not a surprise she has | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-29%2Fno-excuse-abuse.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-6_139.jpg?itok=tMGC9Fzx | en | null | No Excuse for Abuse | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Fourty-one-year-old Camika Mc Letchie holds a bachelors in psychology from the University of St Andrews and is now about to do her masters at the Caribbean Nazarene Collage in Santa Cruz.
A clinical therapist by profession, it is not a surprise she has decided to study and work in this field.
Her life experiences attracted her to this vocation because, she said, she needed to help those being held captive by masters of abuse.
The mother of seven struggled for most of her life with abuse. She was raped twice as a teenager by people she trusted. When she finally thought she’d met her “knight in shining armour” in her husband, that turned into a nightmare as he abused her physically and sexually for their 14 years of marriage.
For Mc Letchie, many were the years she thought she was responsible for all the abuse she endured.
“I used to think that I was doing something to make this happen to me and in some way maybe I deserved it,” she told the T&T Guardian.
She never told anyone about the sexual violations by both rapists in her youth. Instead she grew a hatred for men that in the end only affected her more than she thought her “righteous anger” would have helped.
“I wanted to hurt men the way they hurt me. I thought I could, so I became very flirtatious…promiscuous even.”
At St Georges College, where she spent her secondary school years, she moved from being a very quiet student to an uncontrollable rebellious teen. To this day Mc Letchie said she still wonders why none of the teachers tried to find out what was going on, particularly because of the extreme transition.
“They never asked me. I was too ashamed to talk about it, but I was screaming out for help, through my actions, and no-one heard,” Mc Letchie explained.
She continued, “I got a lot of static in school because people started to say things about me and some of my teachers told me to my face such bad things that it further damaged my self-esteem.”
She said her then math teacher even called her a whore in front of the entire class and told her that she would amount to nothing.
“This really hurt me. And I would skip math class just to avoid being embarrassed. On the outside I would seem tough. I would answer back the teacher; but inside, I was dying with the reality of what was happening to me.”
Mc Letchie said she just wanted to die and prayed many times to God to take her life. She attempted several times to take her own life but each time she said she just could not go through with it.
To ease her pain, Mc Letchie began writing poetry and spoken word. “It was my only way to talk freely about the truth.
“I remember one of the poems was so sad that the school’s guidance counselor asked my mother if everything was okay, and of course my mother being oblivious to what happened, said yes.”
Toward the end of school, Mc Letchie attained the title of poet of the year—a competition held at the school.
And despite the tumultuous years, she graduated with six O’ level subjects—maths included— with good grades (ones and twos).
A little over a year after secondary school, Mc Letchie met her former husband. Fooled by his seemingly caring ways at first, she fell for his charm, only to regret it in the years that followed.
“I thought he was my knight in shining armour. He looked out for me; made sure I was safe. He was seemingly over-caring.” Mc Letchie became pregnant at 19 and after six years of dating, they became married, and stayed married for 14 years.
During the courtship before the marriage, though, Mc Letchie admitted there was a lot of verbal and emotional abuse. She also experienced physical and sexual abuse.
“I continually tried to fix things. I continually took the blame. I felt, again, I was the one causing it.
“I kept telling myself maybe I should not have answered him like that or asked him anything.”
It was while doing one of the courses for her BSc, titled: Family Violence Across the Life Span, that she finally came to terms that she was in fact the victim and not the perpetrator.
“The lecturer was discussing the traits of a perpetrator and those of the victim and what an abusive relationship looks like. And that’s when it really hit me,” said Mc Letchie.
When she decided to end the marriage, it was not easy, Mc Letchie disclosed. She had to file a restraining order as her husband would threaten her and stalk her.
While she would have rather moved out of the home she shared with her husband, she stopped sleeping in their bedroom and even contacted a shelter, but they could not take her with all seven children.
“There were times I would wake up and see him sitting in a chair holding a knife and just looking at me. I was afraid. But through the years and having no one else, I developed a relationship with God. So I learned to trust Him and put my faith in Him and believe that what I was going through and had gone through all these years would soon be over, and there was some good reason for all of this happening to me,” said Mc Letchie.
It’s been three years since her divorce was finalised and she gained full custody of their children
Mc Letchie said once the divorce was over, she tried to pull her family together. But it was challenging at first. Her children, having witnessed the abuse for so long, developed certain behavioural patterns. Her eldest son became very angry. And as Mc Letchie says, she believes they blamed her. She says:
“My children are better now because I continued working with them and they are all doing so well, but by the grace of God.”
Mc Letchie is in the process of writing her first book based on her life. She hopes that through each chapter, others will be freed. Soon she will celebrate the launch of her NGO called Rise: Woman Rediscover your Strength. It will be in support of victims of abuse.
Asked what she took away from her life experience, Mc Letchie said: “There is no excuse for abuse. With the help of God I have forgiven those who hurt me, and that’s the only way I could have been healed.” | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-29/no-excuse-abuse | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/7a256e2b587b9e4ef9e49a6c2d8755c674bfdfbadcc9c9a3c4fb5a287719a4d4.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:49:53 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Enterprise Imam Morland Muakyil Abdullah yesterday slammed Friday’s walkabout by the Minister of National Security, Edmund Dillon saying that he strongly believes that it was political and not a genuine attempt to assist the community and bring relief w | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-28%2Fimam-slams-dillon-%25E2%2580%2598political%25E2%2580%2599-crime-walkabout.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Imam slams Dillon for ‘political’ crime walkabout | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Enterprise Imam Morland Muakyil Abdullah yesterday slammed Friday’s walkabout by the Minister of National Security, Edmund Dillon saying that he strongly believes that it was political and not a genuine attempt to assist the community and bring relief with regards to crime and criminal activities.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Abdullah also knocked the way in which the walkabout was “poorly organised.”
“Imagine very early Friday morning while I was in my bathroom bathing I received a message that Dillon and his team was going to have a walkabout. I took no note of it because to me it sounded like something last minute. No previous announcements were made and no formal invitations and flyers distributed,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah in many times before called for closed door meetings with the Minister of National Security and to date none has been called.
“I think if real care is given priority would be given by Minister Dillon to meet with the Imams in the area to sit and have a deep session so that the ills can really be trashed out and something done to help the area and bring relief to residents,” the Imam said.
He also said that he was giving the new head of the Central Division, Sr Supt Floris Hodge-Griffith to settle into office before he attempts to seek an audience with her.
‘Pappyshow’
Another religious leader in the area, who wished not to be identified called Friday’s walkabout a “pappyshow.”
“I do not know who these politicians and senior law enforcement officers are trying to fool. A walkabout now and then would clearly do no good for the area. They have to meet with us, the leaders, who know the people of the area and sit and discuss private and confidentially what is happening and why it is happening. Walkabouts do nothing and will not ever do anything,” the religious leader said.
A senior resident in the community, identified only as Errol, said he would appreciate if the police could set up a mobile police unit in the area so that they can be very visible in the community.
Errol also called for continuous joint army and police patrols in the area.
Friday’s walkabout came one day after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley called on the police to do more to improve the detection rate. National Security Minister Edmund Dillon read the riot act to divisional heads, calling on them to take charge of their “real estate.”
Speaking with the media at Railway Road before he began his walkabout, Dillon said the aim of the walkabout was to empower the divisional commanders, beginning with the Central Division, to take charge of their “real estate.”
He said each divisional commander must have an idea of what is going on in their division and if each commander took charge of their division, then the crime throughout T&T would decrease. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-28/imam-slams-dillon-%E2%80%98political%E2%80%99-crime-walkabout | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9e2e43d8ccbdbe2621e47faaf71cf3884ed756cbcb6848c54453b93e0c4b03cb.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:51:32 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | One of the issues that the T&T public service faces is that there is very little acknowledgment by the public of positive changes or improvements in the delivery of service.
So, it is important to recognise and congratulate the Central Statistical | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Feditorial%2F2016-08-30%2Fcounting-cso.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/guardianfav1.ico | en | null | Counting on the CSO | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | One of the issues that the T&T public service faces is that there is very little acknowledgment by the public of positive changes or improvements in the delivery of service.
So, it is important to recognise and congratulate the Central Statistical Office for the marked decrease in the length of time it has taken to publish the labour force bulletin for the first quarter of 2016. That that important piece of statistical work was published just short of five months after the close of the survey period is an indicator both of the progress that this vitally important institution has made in the last 18 months...but also that there are improvements in the speed of delivery still to be made.
Recognising the improvement in the delivery of the labour force bulletin by the CSO is important because just two years ago—in the staff report of the Article IV consultation with T&T—the International Monetary Fund went out of its way to point out that the statistical institution “remains woefully under-staffed and under-resourced.”
In words that may have caused tears of embarrassment among some CSO staffers, the IMF then added: “The production of critical data (including GDP, trade, and labour, as well as tourism statistics) continues to fall further behind, grinding to a halt in critical areas and rendering the conduct of surveillance ever harder.”
These comments, although deflatingly harsh, were justified given the disgraceful length of time it took for the Minister of Planning in the previous People’s Partnership administration to find a building for the CSO, after its premises on Independence Square were deemed to be unfit and dangerous.
Even when politicians refer to the CSO as the purveyor of official statistical data, it was always with sarcasm, which was best exemplified by Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s comment in December that he needed to consult with the CSO to determine whether T&T was in a recession. It was the minister’s way of putting down the Jwala Rambarran-led Central Bank, but not, perhaps, of building up the CSO.
Years of derision about the institution’s capability and efficiency have left a residue of doubt about the credibility of its statistics.
That means when the CSO reports—as it did yesterday—that the rate of unemployment has increased to 3.8 per cent from 3.5 per cent, there are likely to be many people who would claim that these numbers under-represent the country’s 2016 reality. That is especially so because in small countries, the knowledge of people losing their job spreads very quickly, which may lead to a perception that the rate of unemployment is higher than the official statistics.
What this means is that the CSO ought not to believe that it can simply publish a report and expect that the public would accept what is in it without some measure of disbelief.
Having been the butt of international ridicule, the CSO should be working much harder to ensure that it is seen as a credible, independent and efficient source of official data and statistics.
In fact, the institution should perceive the improvement in the public’s perception of its credibility as being the most important part of its current mission.
The CSO can go some distance to achieving this by hosting news briefings to coincide with the release of important reports. These briefings can be used to explain some of the language in the reports, the survey methods, margins of error and the constraints that the institution still works under.
The Ministry of Planning—to which the CSO reports—also needs to do more to promote the importance of timely and accurate economic data and to underline, at every opportunity available to it, the crucial role that the institution plays in producing this vital aspect of 21st century life. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/editorial/2016-08-30/counting-cso | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/00eec06dfdeb1263ea563d138e80b1fc7b4906c310e1a546561d39a281f89bc7.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:50:52 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Fortified with an indomitable spirit and unwavering faith, Shanntol Ince has been able to make tremendous sacrifices and overcome daunting odds to stamp her mark as a swimmer of international repute.
After years of following a rigorous schedule and | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-30%2Fince-banks-gold-rio-paralympics.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-4_229.jpg?itok=5EyWhyXu | en | null | Ince banks on gold at Rio Paralympics | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Fortified with an indomitable spirit and unwavering faith, Shanntol Ince has been able to make tremendous sacrifices and overcome daunting odds to stamp her mark as a swimmer of international repute.
After years of following a rigorous schedule and missing out four years ago, Ince now has a second chance to splash her way to the top of her sport as she rounds off her preparations for the Rio Paralympic Games, scheduled for September 7-18.
Ince will be in action on the first day of the swimming programme, September 8, when the heats of her favourite events, the 100-metre and 400-metre freestyle, are scheduled to start.
Her journey to Rio, though, has been long and difficult.
“Swimming has been the only sport I really wanted to do. In fact, I started at the age of four. It hasn’t been easy. I have had to make many sacrifices along the way but the effort has paid off. None of this could have happened without God. I put God first in everything I do. My determination to be the best that I can be comes from the support I receive from my parents and siblings, my coaches over the years, my friends, and the corporate partners who have held my hand along the way. They are all my extended family,”
Ince said, during a break in training at the Flying Fish Club pool in Long Circular, St James, on Saturday.
Ince’s “extended family” has become larger this year with the addition of RBC Royal Bank T&T. In fact, RBC’s embrace of the swimmer is part of a wider global RBC Olympian programme in which Shanntol is the first T&T participant.
As part of this initiative she functions as a community ambassador and is employed in the marketing department of the bank, having started duties in May.
Under the global RBC Olympians Programme, which was established in 2002, current and retired Olympic and Paralympic athletes are recruited and hired to represent RBC as community ambassadors to spread the Olympic message of excellence, teamwork, leadership and commitment to country and communities.
It is expected that the chosen athletes would acquire skills and experiences that will help them with their career transitions for life after sport.
Since its inception in Canada, more than 200 current and retired Olympic and Paralympic athletes have participated in the programme.
Managing Director, Darryl White says Ince is actually an addition to the RBC family. “You are our family just by being here. We are delighted that you have accepted us as part of your family, as well. You inspire the whole of T&T because you have crossed personal hurdles in life and you represent the country with passion and pride. You are the perfect example of what years of hard work and sacrifice can achieve,” White told Ince, as he presented her with a company token at RBC’s corporate offices, St Clair, Port of Spain, recently.
“Despite everything, I think I am really blessed. It has been tough but faith in God has kept me grounded. God always opens a path for you. I am grateful for all the support I have received from corporate sponsors throughout my journey. Being a member of the RBC family now has given me that extra push,” said an emotional Ince.
As White explained, the RBC Olympians Programme is aligned strongly with the bank’s values of diversity and inclusion. “The spirit of the Olympiad, of fairness, character discipline and excellence are the same elements that go into the building of communities and countries. RBC prides itself with having over-riding purpose – helping clients thrive and communities proper. It’s at the heart of all that we do, both in our banking halls and in the communities we serve. Shanntol fits snugly within this fold. We at RBC join the rest of T&T in wishing her the best as she goes for gold in Rio,” White said.
As to her prospects in Rio, Ince said that she would use her experience at the 2012 London Paralympics, when she was just 17, as the foundation to mount the medal rostrum.
“London was an overwhelming experience. Having been there before is certainly an advantage. There is still a little fine-tuning to do. Just flying the flag of T&T at this level fills me with pride and I am going to give it my all,” said Ince. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-30/ince-banks-gold-rio-paralympics | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/1e59f84d718b4fd1c470504a827b2231ded77fb949732f409627275a54c9ba88.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:50:21 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | T&T Soca Warriors skipper Kenwyne Jones says his fitness level is on point and he’s ready to lead the national team in Friday’s penultimate Group C Concacaf semfinal round clash with Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from 7.0 | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-29%2Fjones-says-warriors-fired.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-1_341.jpg?itok=DLtsnTin | en | null | Jones says Warriors fired up | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | T&T Soca Warriors skipper Kenwyne Jones says his fitness level is on point and he’s ready to lead the national team in Friday’s penultimate Group C Concacaf semfinal round clash with Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from 7.06pm
Jones was speaking on Saturday as he looked ahead to the start of a live-in training camp yesterday with the rest of the T&T 24-man squad and along with head coach Stephen Hart also issued a calls for support as the attempts to secure its passage through the Concacaf hexagonal stage which commences in November.
“Don’t wait ’till we qualify. The team has been doing well for the past three and a half years, making steady progress and I believe we have giving a product for the nation to be proud of. This is a big game just like those of ’89 and the 2006 games,” Jones said on I95.5 FM on Saturday night. “The ticket cost is less than that of a boat ride so there is no excuse for fans not to fill the stadium.”
The Central FC star who has played for teams such as Stoke City, Sunderland, Southampton and Cardiff City, made it clear that his T&T troops know very well what their mission is.
“I’ve already had that conversation with them (players) so they know what the rewards can be. We know that we have a lot of work to do and a long way to go before we qualify (for the World Cup). Even though we have done so well in the group, no game is an easy game and we expect to always have a fight on our hands. I think the team is well prepared to go through all the ups and downs. We have matured as a unit and I am quite confident in my group,” Jones said.
He noted he has not training with the team. “This week is very important in terms of us coming together. I am fit but who knows, you don’t know what a game will call for. I have the advantage of not traveling long hours anymore to come to play but there is still the preparation before the match.”
Hart will begin his sessions today at the Hasely Crawford Stadium while Guatemala will undergo their sessions at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar before their one-hour session at the match venue on Thursday.
Speaking ahead of the camp, Hart said: “We have a tendency to like it only when things go well. In real life, you have good times, bad times and times when you need to fight. And when you really suffer to get the result and then you get the result, the joy that comes from achieving that is something that personally drives me. The support of the people… we can’t say enough of how important that is,” Hart said.
T&T currently sits at the top of the four-team group with ten points, three ahead of USA while Guatemala is next with six points and St Vincent and The Grenadines, bottom of the table without a point.
With two matches left for each team, the Soca Warriors need only a point to qualify as one of the top two teams from the group to earn a spot in the six-team Final Round of Qualifiers to the World Cup in Russia.
Tickets are available at Lotto locations nationwide at $300 (covered) and $150 (covered). Gates open at 4pm on Friday. Tickets will not be on sale at the match venue on Friday but once in stock, will be available at the nearest Lotto locations.
T&T Squad
Goalkeepers: Marvin Phillip (Morvant Caledonia AIA), Greg Ranjitsingh (Louisville City FC), Adrian Foncette (Police FC).
Defenders: Aubrey David (Dallas FC), Radanfah Abu Bakr (JK Silame Kalev), Sheldon Bateau (FC Krylia Sovetov), Carlyle Mitchell (Seoul E-Land FC), Daneil Cyrus (W Connection FC), Yohance Marshall (Murcielagos FC), Mekeil Williams (Colorado Rapids).
Midfielders: Joevin Jones (Seattle Sounders), Andre Boucaud (Dagenham & Redbridge), Hughtun Hector (W Connection FC), John Bostock (Racing Lens), Levi Garcia (AZ Almaar), Kevin Molino (Orlando City), Khaleem Hyland (KVC Westerlo), Neveal Hackshaw (Charleston Battery), Jomal Williams (Murciealagos FC), Kevan George (Jacksonville Armada FC).
Forwards: Trevin Caesar (Orange County FC), Shahdon Winchester (Murciealagos FC), Cordell Cato (San Jose Earthquakes), Kenwyne Jones (Central FC) | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-29/jones-says-warriors-fired | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/6a0c0c99fec438fe36d37dc5931624ea12200e6e7bfbee8aef0818a7ade2d9dc.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T02:49:07 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | ROSEMARIE SANT
The crime detection rate in T&T has been put at an abysmally low 8.6 per cent for the period August 2015 to March 2016—way below the 35 per cent target Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams set for the Police Service. This is a | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fcriminals-feel-emboldened.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Bars.jpg?itok=ttqMctM_ | en | null | Criminals feel emboldened | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | ROSEMARIE SANT
The crime detection rate in T&T has been put at an abysmally low 8.6 per cent for the period August 2015 to March 2016—way below the 35 per cent target Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams set for the Police Service. This is according to official police data covering the period up to April this year.
While head of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Michael Seales blames the low detection rate on citizens’ failure to come forward, president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) Gregory Aboud believes the police are failing in their duty.
Aboud, who last week called out Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley,head of the National Security Council, on the continuing crime scourge, told the T&T Guardian: “The only real way to protect lives is to find the murderers and arrest them. That is the only way to stop them.”
Aboud said police cannot blame citizens for their failure to solve crimes because according to him, “there are many instances where people go to police stations to make reports and by the time they get back to their homes the person who they make the report about already knows.”
Seales said the Commissioner’s broad approach was for a significant increase in the detection rate for murders of 35 per cent by the end of the year. Divisional heads, he said, were given “collective targets with respect to detection starting at ten per cent and increasing every quarter. But the ultimate aim was to achieve a 35 per cent increase in detection by year’s end.”
He said there are repercussions for divisional heads who fail to meet set targets.
“It is reflected in their performance appraisal and if they are not performing they will not get promotions or increases in salaries,” Seales said.
He described it as “a fair system,” which gives the divisional head “the opportunity to bring his or her performance up to scratch within a set time frame. If there is no improvement the commissioner can then re-assign the person.”
Division heads must account
Former head of the Police Service Commission, Professor Ramesh Deosaran, said: “The Police Service as a whole do have key indicators, some of which are reduction in serious crime, reduction in serious traffic accidents and increase in the detection rate.”
Deosaran said the Commissioner now has “constitutional powers to manage the service in terms of available human and physical resources” and with the exception of deputy commissioners, “has complete power to transfer, appoint, promote, discipline after appropriate steps are taken with respect to staff reports and due process.”
“The Commissioner should direct his division heads to perform according to these established criteria and the appropriate action taken for success or failure,” he said.
But the onus is also on the Police Service Commission to monitor the extent to which the Commissioner is exercising his powers and responsibilities, as well as monitor, measure and evaluate the performance of the three deputy commissioners. Failure to perform should be “noted, remedied or subjected to disciplinary action”, Deosaran said.
He said detection rates have not been meeting stipulated targets, and require urgent attention by the Commissioner, the Police Service Commission and Government, since “to leave it idle with public complaints and criminals running free cannot be tolerated in a civilised society. This is a key criterion upon which to assess performance.”
Seales argued that the low detection rate had a lot to do with “the lack of public interest in helping the police.”
“You need the witnesses to a crime to say what they saw,” he said.
Noting the growing fear among the citizenry about the growing trend of crime, Seales said: “We have to bite the bullet. What we reaping is because everybody scared.”
He added that “every citizen must play an active role” in the battle to reduce rising crime levels.
Seales admitted that there is a “lack of trust” in the police and blamed this partially on “some in the media who advise people not to trust the police because they’re corrupt.”
He said constantly putting that kind of information in people’s heads “impacts on the psyche of the people and impacts their relationship with the police.”
But one young man who witnessed the murder of a relative rubbished Seale’s argument.
He said he vividly recalls the face of his cousin’s killer but knows that “going to the police to report the crime in the Besson Street area is certain death for me.”
The man said he continues to see the face of the killer even with his eyes closed in bed at night, but has to live with it to protect himself and his family.
Deosaran said public policing depends on community support and participation.
He admitted that this has become “a serious weakness, an unfortunate gap” and fuller community support and confidence in the police are “definite ways to help improve crime reduction, increased detection rates and successful prosecutions.” | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/criminals-feel-emboldened | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/8655b515177f12cc375af1ddf54fe91505f1742d4a0b078ac44ff2e12771768e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:50:00 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Last week, the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (Tatt) convened an ambitious forum in support of World Telecommunication and Internet Society Day supporting its theme for 2016, ICT entrepreneurship for social impact.
Unfortunately, WTISD is | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-30%2Fback-and-forth-future.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-5_187.jpg?itok=YbWe3fWU | en | null | Back and forth from the future | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Last week, the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (Tatt) convened an ambitious forum in support of World Telecommunication and Internet Society Day supporting its theme for 2016, ICT entrepreneurship for social impact.
Unfortunately, WTISD is celebrated on May 17, roughly four months ago, and there were no actual entrepreneurs among the speakers.
There also wasn’t an actual panel discussion, since one of the presenters was present as a patiently hovering Skype window while the other had been called away at the last moment.
Tatt board member Nikolaski Ali drew the thankless task of trying to make the theme of the Leadership Roundtable, Back to the Future—now as determinedly retro as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis—relevant to today’s digitally enabled business people.
In the service of that mission, Ali declared that today’s businesses must “set the course for digital entrepreneurship in T&T,” and noted that, “We are the past of tomorrow’s future,” and called for his audience “to dream and innovate T&T into the future.”
That desperate reach for relevance didn’t stop Albertina Navas, director, Centre for Social Media Studies at the UWI—Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business from delivering a considered, on-point presentation about recent trends in online marketing to an audience expecting ways of Taking Advantage of Digital Opportunities.
Navas re-emphasised the notion of the company website as the headquarters or hub of corporate digital strategy, but called on webmasters to embrace mobile first web design as the next generation of responsive design.
In this iteration of design, the website acknowledges the primacy of mobile device access as the primary viewing port and content is arranged to maximise mobile display first, then desktop browser access.
There are currently 1,525,576 mobile subscribers who can connect to the Internet in T&T, which offers adequate incentive for such considerations.
Quartz (qz.com) was the first major website designed to be mobile first. It’s functional and readable in the browser but looks best on mobile devices.
Navas also emphasised the value of marketing to influencers, calculating the value of such individuals based on their reach, relevance and resonance.
She also introduced the concept of ephemeral marketing on SnapChat, transmitting messages that exist only temporarily.
While T&T has not yet proven itself an avid consumer of locally created apps, Navas saw value in App indexing, which lists apps in search results and allows direct download from a search page.
Google thought this a good enough idea that it bought Firebase in 2014 to make this a more seamless experience.
The search company also offers Google Double Click Advertising Manager, which uses artificial intelligence and real-time bidding to deliver programmatic advertising, which uses algorithms to optimise online display, social media advertising and mobile and video campaigns.
Trevor Libert, recently appointed CEO of iGovTT had his own challenges in offering an overview of the activities of the national oversight agency for digital development.
A great deal of what he had to say about the agency’s work was already years in the past, with only WiFi on 13 buses and online tax filing and tender submissions to point to as recent developments.
“TTConnect portal has been the greatest success of iGovTT,” Libert said, “but it needs to get to the next level quickly. Online forms have to be improved with better backend processes to eliminate paper from the process entirely.”
Much remains in limbo with the continuing failure to completely proclaim the eTransactions Act of 2011, a national embarrassment that’s not only hamstrung government efforts at bringing more services online—it’s put any serious efforts at Internet-based business on ice for the entire 21st century to date.
Whatever Tatt hoped to achieve with their “retrofest”, but it ended up raising questions, some by Navas, who signalled new demands for digital marketers and for Libert, who is challenged to find answers to questions that have bedevilled the sector ever since the first Fast Forward initiative was announced in 2006. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-30/back-and-forth-future | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/bf7afb85f32d7ee9173de12bedc2e6e4a01c4530ba4ef6b7bf07cbc6d4589df1.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:52:47 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association has revealed a meticulous security operational policy to ensure the safety and security of all fans who attend the World Cup qualifying match against Guatemala on Friday at the Hasely Crawford | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fsport%2F2016-08-31%2Fttfa%25E2%2580%2588beefs-security-qualifier.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-3_263.jpg?itok=UrFIoPlJ | en | null | TTFA beefs up security for qualifier | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association has revealed a meticulous security operational policy to ensure the safety and security of all fans who attend the World Cup qualifying match against Guatemala on Friday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Several meetings and on site viewing have been conducted with all the different arms of the protective services, TTFA security officials and SPORTT to ensure that there would be a comprehensive plan, of which would be monitored and coordinated through a operations centre on Friday.
The TTFA said that spectators can feel comfortable to know that all that is required to ensure their safety and security would be implemented as arrangements.
A thorough research was conducted to rectify matters of the past that may inconvenienced patrons, and there will be strict security protocols implemented, due to intense meetings and planning.
Systems will be implemented to also ensure that there would be no undue frustration for spectators such as long lines and waiting periods to enter the venue.
The TTFA will however seek the support of the public to ensure that such concerns can be even further reduced, if they can adhere to these regulations, and this would cause the entrance into the Stadium to be made even easier for all.
The TTFA have provided the following guidelines for fans:
– No Coolers
– No large Knapsacks
– No alcohol to be brought into the Stadium by spectators
– All spectators will be scanned via walk through scanners on entry,
– All spectators are asked to have their ticket in their hand to show on entry into the Stadium just prior to being searched at that Check Point
– As much as possible, other than motor vehicle keys, spectators are asked to refrain from walking with any type of metal object, to prevent a secondary check.
Spectators are advised of the following restrictions and would not be permitted to bring the following into the Stadium
• Coolers of any size
• Chairs
• Firearms, weapons, and knives
• Fireworks, explosives, and flammable items
• Mace/gas containers
• Glass bottles or containers
• Alcohol
• Illegal drugs or narcotics
• Cans (soft drinks and alcohol)
• Video cameras/ camcorders
• Large Umbrellas:
• Own foodstuff (with plastic cutlery)
• Soft drinks/water in plastic bottles
• Flasks
• Banners and Flags that may be deemed vulgar, racial, discriminatory, sexual in nature, or display advertising which may in any way conflict with the rights of the sponsors of the event ,or deemed to be offensive, or impact on the view of other spectators.
• Any other objects or items or substances that may be deemed in the discretion of TTFA to be offensive, disruptive, dangerous or likely to infringe any party’s rights or any party’s
• Safety or security or any dangerous article or substance not referred to above.
Prohibited items that are discovered during security inspection must be returned to the visitor’s vehicle or will be confiscated. There is no provision of a holding area at the stadium for any of these articles that are prohibited.
– All ticket holders for uncovered stands are to enter through the St John’s Gate – (Gate All persons with Accreditation will not be allowed entry at this gate.
– All ticket holders for the covered stands are to enter through the Lion’s Gate (Gate 3)
– Access also through the Lions Gate
– Security personnel on duty,
– Plain clothes Detectives ,
– Vendors arriving between 11am to 4pm.
– Differently-abled drivers
– Accredited media
– Team buses
– Accredited staff
– Gates would be open to the Public from 4 pm, so all are encouraged to turn up in large numbers from early.
Tickets are on sale at all Lotto locations this week. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-31/ttfa%E2%80%88beefs-security-qualifier | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/5de8bb2379e011e89728f97211753d400abf1905a1a318c22eb9b50ba70bfc1a.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:49:41 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Nineteen-year-old Kadeem Griffith, who died on Thursday night, hours after he was shot near his Tunapuna home, may have been alive today had he been identified as one of the gunmen who robbed a Chinese national nine days before.
Speaking with the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fnews%2F2016-08-27%2Fteen-dies-after-tunapuna-shooting.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Kadeem%20Griffith.jpg?itok=nmquQ9s9 | en | null | Teen dies after Tunapuna shooting | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Nineteen-year-old Kadeem Griffith, who died on Thursday night, hours after he was shot near his Tunapuna home, may have been alive today had he been identified as one of the gunmen who robbed a Chinese national nine days before.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian at Singh’s Bar, located along Streatham Lodge Extension, Monte Grande, Tunapuna, proprietor Mary Singh said last week Griffith and another man robbed her business partner, a Chinese national identified only as “Martin,” of cash from his Roulette machine which he once operated at her bar.
She said the two men, whom she recognised from surveillance footage, were unmasked and she knew them “since them in pamper.” They entered her business covering their faces with jerseys and bandana and beat up “Martin” before taking $4,000 from him and fleeing.
The incident took place on August 16, at 10.25 am, she said, and it was the fourth time the Roulette machine operator was robbed.
“He (Martin) tell me don’t give it to the police because the last time they didn’t do anything” Singh said, adding that the lifespan of the footage has since passed and the robbery was not reported.
Singh, who said she recognised Griffith from a photograph shown to her yesterday, said had she reported the matter, Griffith may have been arrested and not on the corner when the shooting took place.
According to police, Griffith along with three others, Andre “Lizard” Mc Gregor, 27, Kamini Rodriquez, 26, and Kareem “Gargoyle” John, 29, were outside Mc Gregor’s garage when two vehicles pulled up and the occupants opened fire on the men. The shooting took place around 10.30 am police said.
Griffith died around 8.30 pm at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. The other victims are still in hospital.
Told of the allegations made against her grandson, Helen Jack, 54, in a telephone interview, denied he was involved in any criminal activity saying that while she was aware of the robbery at the bar it was Griffith’s associates and not he that committed the act. Earlier, at her O’Keefe Street home, Jack recalled her last moments with her grandson. The 54-year-old said the day before he was killed they spoke of how she was going to celebrate her birthday next week Thursday.
Two shot, man chopped with Chinese chopper
In an unrelated shooting two men are warded in serious condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after being shot while travelling in Laventille on Thursday night.
According to police reports, around 8 pm the men were travelling along Laventille Road Extension when they were fired upon. The men, yet to be identified, were taken to hospital where they are currently warded.
Police are also investigating the chopping of a 48-year-old taxi driver who got into an argument with a man he knows. Police reports are that around 11.30 pm on Thursday, Abraham Mohammed was at his Mancharles Street, Felicity, home when he was called outside by the man. While speaking, the two began to argue and the attacker left and went to his car where he retrieved a Chinese chopper and chopped Mohammed in the head, back and arms.
The attacker then fled. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-08-27/teen-dies-after-tunapuna-shooting | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/bba5904c0960af82a568c51017a3e593b6b4b172f87135da5e5d37898c2706fb.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:49:55 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | On the surface it sounds like an unlikely alliance: alternative rock band 5 Miles to Midnight's founder and drummer Rhys Thompson teaming up with jazz percussionist Modupe Onilu of Dayo Bejide Organic Music Movement. But when the two got together for a | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Farts%2F2016-08-28%2Fbangin%25E2%2580%2599-party-set.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-6_138.jpg?itok=GA3qoIYf | en | null | A bangin’ party set | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | On the surface it sounds like an unlikely alliance: alternative rock band 5 Miles to Midnight's founder and drummer Rhys Thompson teaming up with jazz percussionist Modupe Onilu of Dayo Bejide Organic Music Movement. But when the two got together for a boat party stunt a few years ago, who knew it would blossom into an international phenomenon?
The pair, performing under the moniker the BoomboomRoom, is hitting Labor Day in Brooklyn—hard. They will be playing at a variety of events until September 6. The tour follows their incursion into Barbados’ Crop Over celebrations earlier this year; they also played with the band The Lost Tribe for T&T Carnival 2016.
“The BoomboomRoom’s mission is to bring vibes to any event using the power of music and percussion," said Thompson in an email.
“People often refer to us as a riddim section. We call ourselves a ‘percussion party band’. We play along with the music, enhancing it, giving it a live feel. We seldom play alone (without music).”
He added, “We have just upgraded our gear and we included some electronic percussive instruments. Our goal is to be the most sought after band in this Caribbean music industry.”
They plan on recording when they return from this NY tour. —LAA
More info: Instagram @BoomBoomRoomtt | http://www.guardian.co.tt/arts/2016-08-28/bangin%E2%80%99-party-set | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/a8600a0a081ba2eb3b06dc9cb4cc535a03ffe1c9dcd12b60f3a8eda219a046c6.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:41 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Ryan Hadeed
With all that’s going on in the world, it’s nice to find escapism with a trip to the movies. It’s a realm peddling works of fiction where the good guys win and the bad guys lose, where the underdog beats the odds and has a chance at success, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Fcolumnist%2F2016-08-28%2Fstarring-role-tt-bazodee.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/ryan%20hadeed_61.jpg?itok=70S1-gkO | en | null | A starring role for T&T in Bazodee | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | Ryan Hadeed
With all that’s going on in the world, it’s nice to find escapism with a trip to the movies. It’s a realm peddling works of fiction where the good guys win and the bad guys lose, where the underdog beats the odds and has a chance at success, and where love conquers all and it’s happily ever after. These classic tropes were showcased against the backdrop of colourful T&T with the premiere of Bazodee, a film that emulates Bollywood cinema while making it distinctively ours by adding the fanfare of Carnival and the musical talents of soca artiste Machel Montano. The situations are predictable and the acting is at times cheesy, but as a whole it can be taken as an introspection of how we want the world to see us and how we want to see ourselves.
Considering that our country’s list of motion picture credentials is small, it is encouraging so see a professionally produced project such as this. With the limited release and the coverage received in the United States, it may even result in some international interest for T&T as a filming destination. Along with locally-made movies like A Story About Wendy and Trafficked, there is reason enough to be optimistic about the future of our home-grown cinema industry.
I have to admit, however, that I had zero intention of seeing Bazodee. From the trailers alone I more or less deduced what the story was about— girl meets boy and the sparks fly, but girl is engaged and her fiancé is rich while boy is dirt poor. They can’t resist each other and end up having a clandestine relationship that is soon discovered. Girl makes her choice and leaves boy feeling dejected but somehow everything works out and they get together in the end. The last time I subjected myself to such a plot it involved a doomed oceanliner, a blue diamond necklace, and a crooning Céline Dion.
Since I’m in South Florida for the summer, I reckoned that I had a plausible excuse for missing it. That was until I discovered its listing at a local cinema. I decided to suspend my skepticism and give it a chance for the sake of patriotism. So there I was two Fridays ago, sitting in a dark theatre, no popcorn, no soda, and no date—my sister came along, but she doesn’t count. Nothing between me and getting ‘bazodee’.
In preparation for my viewing experience, the movie’s associate producer, Nirad Tewarie, in a written comment posted to my Facebook wall reminded me: “It's a playful, musical love story not an arthouse classic.”
I am certain he was more concerned with tempering my usually caustic tone as opposed to offering a pre-emptive defence. Therefore, I did my best to disassociate myself from being a Trinidadian watching a movie about Trinidad in order to be as objective as possible. Easier said than done, of course.
As it turned out my sister enjoyed it more than I did, which is understandable because not only does she enjoy musicals and love stories, but she’s a huge fan of Machel and Carnival. I, on the other hand, don’t care much for either. That being said, I thought it was a charming film in its own right. While there were parts, places, and people that didn’t necessarily feel authentically Trinbagonian, the overriding themes were nonetheless relevant to our social perception.
This isn’t a review and there won’t be any spoilers, so I assure you that it’s safe to read on.
As a story about a forbidden romance—though it’s easy to see Bazodee with the Negro musician and the Indian princess, as a one-dimensional story about race relations—there is also the more profound issue of haves versus have nots which influences how both individuals see each other and their circumstances. While I highly doubt the writer(s) had this in mind when they formulated this turbulent tale of love and song, I found it an intriguing lens through which to interpret the world where the events were occurring.
Perhaps these contrasting topics can be taken as a portrayal of what ails our society. Far too often the cry of racial discrimination is used as a tool of convenience, used to explain everything from poverty and academic under-performance, to corruption and favouritism. But as one of the lead characters points out—it’s not all and always about race. What unites these two opposing lifestyles is their desire (no pun intended) for opportunities. From the rigidity in the opulent mansion to the laid-back pub scene, everyone is just looking for a chance to make their mark and accomplish something of worth. Maybe that’s what this film ultimately ends up being—a vehicle for T&T to gain some positive international recognition.
Not since the adaptation of Naipaul’s The Mystic Masseur (2001) has a feature-length film sought to give our country a starring role. Bazodee is a wholesome story that can be enjoyed by the entire family. While it might not be deserving of any awards for screenplay or cinematography, it contains enough substance to be both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Congratulations are in order for everyone who was involved in bringing this idea to life. I’d like to make a special mention of Miss Perera and Mr Bedi for channeling the Trinbagonian spirit. As always, Machel’s musical genius is second to none. However, when it comes to acting, I think it’s best that he not quit his day job. | http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2016-08-28/starring-role-tt-bazodee | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/a6f952d4c995586110173b8e9c34313a4567d899f81b62ffdaafbdee2bac8fff.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:50:26 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | If you have ever been licked by a cat, the first thing you probably noticed was the rough texture of its tongue. Dogs have smooth tongues, whereas the texture of a cat’s tongue is scratchy and rough, almost like sandpaper.
The centre of a cat’s tongue is | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.tt%2Flifestyle%2F2016-08-28%2Fcat-got-your-tongue.json | http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field/image/Untitled-8_72.jpg?itok=UTTfJLYm | en | null | Cat got your tongue? | null | null | www.guardian.co.tt | If you have ever been licked by a cat, the first thing you probably noticed was the rough texture of its tongue. Dogs have smooth tongues, whereas the texture of a cat’s tongue is scratchy and rough, almost like sandpaper.
The centre of a cat’s tongue is covered with small, backward-facing barbs or spines known as filiform papillae. These papillae contain keratin which is the same material human fingernails are made of, and this makes the papillae rigid. There are several reasons for cats having a rough tongue.
Cats are carnivores or meat-eaters. They hunt smaller animals as food. The most vital role in the wild would be that the spines on the tongue are used to help rasp and scrape flesh from the bones of their prey. Since the hooks are backward-facing, the papillae also help hold the prey in the cat’s mouth. These barbs face toward the cat's throat and help push food in that direction for swallowing.
The cat’s tongue also has fungiform (mushroom-shaped) papillae on the sides and tip and vallate papillae at the back, which hold the taste buds. Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans—470 in cats on average compared to 10,000 in the average human. A cat can sense both taste and texture with its tongue. Domestic and wild cats share a gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules, leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness. They are also relatively insensitive to salt. Their taste buds instead respond to amino acids and bitter tastes, and cats seem to be attracted to the texture of particular foods on the tongue instead.
Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson’s organ located in their mouths that allows them to taste-smell certain aromas of which humans have no experience. They also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring it with a temperature around 100°F (38 °C) which is similar to that of a fresh kill, rejecting food presented cold or refrigerated (which would signal to the cat that the “prey” item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing). They use their tongues to test whether the food is too hot, too cold, or just right.
The taste buds of cats are also sensitive to the taste of water and it is important that your cat always has access to fresh, clean water. Unlike dogs that tend to slop water all over when they drink, cats are dainty drinkers because of the way they use their tongues. They form their tongues into small cup shapes when they lap up water.
The spines on a cat’s tongue help it function as a built-in hairbrush or comb which can be used to groom the its fur. The tongue’s rough texture is perfect for grooming. As the cat licks, loose hairs and other debris are caught on the barbs and removed from the coat. However, this can also lead to the formation of hairballs if you do not brush your pet often enough. Since the loose hairs are gathered by the barbs and directed toward the throat, the cat ends up swallowing the hairs. They collect in the stomach and form indigestible masses that can lead to blockages if the cat does not cough them back up. These clumps of hair are usually sausage-shaped and about two to three centimetres long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush. Some cats can develop a compulsive behaviour known as psychogenic alopecia, or excessive grooming.
Cats also use their tongues to cool off when grooming themselves. As they lick, the moisture left on the fur produces an evaporative cooling effect similar to sweating in humans. In addition to regulating body temperature, the saliva helps to keep the fur clean and smelling fresh.
Finally, cats use their tongues to show affection. When your cat licks you, she is showing you she cares for you, and this is a generous expression since many felines tend to be somewhat aloof.
Copyright © Kristel-Marie Ramnath 2016 | http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-08-28/cat-got-your-tongue | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.guardian.co.tt/9faf6cd6a056842b6071a31fcd26825c812dae282ac74d0db730396d4a01159a.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:50:06 | null | 2016-08-29T10:46:25 | Nodding off in the middle of the day may be down to pollution generated by traffic, suggests new research. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fsleepiness-linked-to-traffic-noise-and-pollution-1-7548626.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7548623.1472463964!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Sleepiness linked to traffic noise and pollution | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Nodding off in the middle of the day may be down to pollution generated by traffic, suggests new research.
The study shows exposure to traffic pollution is a trigger for daytime sleepiness - and may also trigger SNORING.
More than 12,000 adults were included in the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study.
The findings show that people exposed to high levels of pollution had a 65 per cent greater chance of suffering from daytime sleepiness, compared to those who had no exposure.
Traffic noise in the bedroom was also a trigger - with people 46 per cent more likely to feel sleepy in the day if exposed.
And the research also suggests that people are also 29 per cent more likely to be a habitual snorer if they are exposed to traffic noise while they sleep.
Daytime sleepiness affected one in five people involved in the study, while one in four reported habitual snoring.
Ane Johannessen, an epidemiologist at Bergen University in Norway, wrote the study together with Professor Thorarinn Gislason and other Northern European researchers.
She said: “Exposure to traffic should be taken into account when planning treatment for patients with sleep disturbances, because reducing noise and pollution exposure in the bedroom may have a beneficial effect.
“Reducing exposure through relocating the bedroom away from pollution sources or making the bedroom more soundproof to protect against traffic noise, as well as mapping alternative and less polluted outdoor everyday routes may help patients with their sleep disorders.”
The study also showed that men, older subjects, smokers and those with lower education were more likely to report habitual snoring.
They were usually less physically active, with a higher BMI, and more likely to have a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
Women, older people, smokers, and those with lower education were more likely to report daytime sleepiness.
The new research is due to be presented at the European Respiratory Society’s International Congress in London next month.
Professor Jorgen Vestbo, President of ERS and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, said: “The question of who snores may be a running joke in some households but for many snoring is a serious issue, with direct links to physical and mental well being and the same is true for daytime sleepiness.
“We want people to think more about the environment around them and the impact it can have - from the way they sleep to the air they breathe.”
To coincide with Congress, the ERS will be holding some free public lung function testing, starting in Trafalgar Square on September 2 and 3. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/sleepiness-linked-to-traffic-noise-and-pollution-1-7548626 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/d21624500520f087e2151106deb139db5b0a28c0b4907b7de4ef723c44f008ac.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:08:27 | null | 2016-08-25T11:30:10 | A new book looking back at the history of the Alderman Catleugh Boys’ and Girls’ Schools in Lynn has been published. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fcommunity%2Fcommunity-news%2Fmemories-and-photos-of-the-former-ald-catleugh-school-in-king-s-lynn-1-7543129.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7543126.1472134755!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Memories and photos of the former Ald Catleugh School in King’s Lynn | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | A new book looking back at the history of the Alderman Catleugh Boys’ and Girls’ Schools in Lynn has been published.
The author is Michael Walker, who was head of King Edward Vll School from 1990 to 2002.
As it was ... Alderman Catleugh School buildings
Alderman Catleugh Schools, 1957-79, features reminiscences of former students interwoven with the factual account.
It tells the story of the history of the Alderman Catleugh Boys’ and Girls’ Schools which were opened in 1957, the merger of these two schools in 1976 and finally their amalgamation with the West Norfolk and King’s Lynn High School for Girls in 1979 to form Springwood High School.
The account covers details of numbers on roll, the development of the buildings, organisation and curriculum, examination results, extra-curricular activities and the influence of the headteachers and staff. The very important roles played by Alfred Chadwick and Norah Howe-Smith are also highlighted.
Lynn News readers have helped Mr Walker in the production of this book, having responded to his request for information to old photographs we have published in recent months.
There will be a book launch and a reunion in the drama studio at Springwood High School (in the old Alderman Catleugh buildings) starting at 7pm on Tuesday, September 13.
Mr Walker said: “This will include a slide show and the opportunity to look round what had been the Alderman Catleugh buildings.
“Light refreshments will be provided. Former students and staff will be very welcome and it will be attended by the former headmistress, Miss Norah Howe-Smith.
“Those intending to go should call the school on 01553 773393 to give them an idea of numbers.”
Mr Walker has previously written two books about KES. The first, King Edward Vll School, A Centenary Celebration, was to celebrate the opening of the present school buildings on the Gaywood Road by King Edward Vll on November 5, 1906.
His second book, Diary of a Grammar School, King’s Lynn, was published in 2010 and is an account of the Lynn Grammar School up to 1903 when it was renamed King Edward Vll Grammar School.
The book traces the school’s history back 500 years to a bequest in the will of Thomas Thorseby in 1510.
Having written two books on what had been, up to 1979, a boys’ school, Mr Walker decided that the girls had been neglected so he researched the history of the Girls’ High School and published in 2012, The West Norfolk and King’s Lynn High School for Girls, 1886 to 1979.
An accompanying DVD included films from 1937 and 1964.
His new book on the Ald Catleugh schools will be on sale at Waterstones in Lynn and Springwood High School. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/community/community-news/memories-and-photos-of-the-former-ald-catleugh-school-in-king-s-lynn-1-7543129 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/245c7856d54f629f27c28f6516e134641c9970e62c0471ae5fc964bb2fe94113.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:57 | null | 2016-08-24T15:51:33 | By Maggie Clarkson | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fgolf%2Fclarke-and-norman-take-plaudits-at-king-s-lynn-golf-club-1-7541983.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7541982.1472050278!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Clarke and Norman take plaudits at King’s Lynn Golf Club | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | By Maggie Clarkson
The weather was ideal for the King’s Lynn Ladies Championship Day on Tuesday last week.
The Championship is 36 hole Stroke Play played on the same day. The standard of golf was exceptional.
The winner of the Jean Lee Salver for the best scratch lady was Mrs Sue Clarke (8) with a gross 77+86=163. The runner-up was Karen Freezer (12) 86+81=167.
The star of the day was Polly Norman who is a junior member playing off 36. She won the Jo Skoulding Handicap Trophy with a magnificent score of 68=65 (36) = 133.
From left: Karen Freezer, Ladies captain Maggie Clarkson, Polly Norman, Sue Clarke. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/sport/golf/clarke-and-norman-take-plaudits-at-king-s-lynn-golf-club-1-7541983 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/10f397e98b408d57f2a0da1ab04ab018835e91f1e80a8bca1a9cca7504fc21b8.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:50:39 | null | 2016-08-30T17:00:00 | A horse which had become stuck in water near the sluice in St Germans was rescued by fire and rescue crews yesterday morning. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Fhorse-rescued-from-river-in-joint-mission-in-wiggenhall-st-germans-1-7551137.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.6805678.1472572052!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Horse rescued from river in joint mission in Wiggenhall St Germans | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | The types of cookies we, our ad network and technology partners use are listed below:
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Add This ► Add This provides the social networking widget found in many of our pages. This widget gives you the tools to bookmark our websites, blog, share, tweet and email our content to a friend. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/horse-rescued-from-river-in-joint-mission-in-wiggenhall-st-germans-1-7551137 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/405f3e7241204c168a64fbc377ab479111f96cb7327154983086a12146d28a4e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:50:08 | null | 2016-08-29T12:00:00 | Landlords in West Norfolk look set to lose council tax discounts on empty, unfurnished and unoccupied properties under new proposals. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Fwest-norfolk-council-reveals-plan-to-axe-council-tax-rebates-for-empty-homes-1-7548272.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7350815.1472410498!/image/image.jpg | en | null | West Norfolk Council reveals plan to axe council tax rebates for empty homes | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Landlords in West Norfolk look set to lose council tax discounts on empty, unfurnished and unoccupied properties under new proposals.
The measures, which have already been backed by a borough council committee, is expected to generate more than half a million pounds in additional tax revenues.
But some critics are unhappy that the borough would only receive around 10 per cent of the extra money raised if the scheme is implemented.
At present, the borough council only charges 50 per cent of the normal council tax bill for properties that are unhabitable, and no tax at all on empty or unfurnished homes.
However, the new plan, if implemented, would see full tax bills levied on those properties from next April.
A report presented to the borough council’s corporate performance panel, which backed the idea on Wednesday, said the measure would affect less than one per cent of properties in the borough, a total of 486, and would generate nearly £572,000 of additional tax revenue.
But the document revealed that little more than £60,000 would actually be retained by the borough council.
The largest portion, almost £434,000, would go to Norfolk County Council, with the remaining £77,000 going to the office of the county’s police and crime commissioner.
Committee member David Pope said: “We’re going to raise an extra £572,000, of which we get a paltry £60,000. We only get £60,000 for doing all the work. That doesn’t seem fair to me.”
Chief executive Ray Harding said the county council had agreed to refund the borough’s costs, estimated at around £50,000.
And leader Brian Long said the police portion was more acceptable if it was used for front-line services.
He said: “I’d rather see two extra officers on the beat because that’s the cost it would be.”
If the plans are given the go-ahead, the borough would follow the lead of Broadland council, which is the only one of Norfolk’s districts to have abolished the discounts so far.
Norwich City Council has also removed the discount for empty and unfurnished properties, but still offers a 50 per cent rebate for uninhabitable homes. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/west-norfolk-council-reveals-plan-to-axe-council-tax-rebates-for-empty-homes-1-7548272 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/33e15cede47c86266fb796e96390b73d5a1c40f25dab25e12af1900679f934fe.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:08:15 | null | 2016-08-24T14:47:39 | Scores of families had their wishes come true on Sunday when Lynn town centre was turned into a enchanted wonderland for the Fairytale and Legends day. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fwhat-s-on%2Flifestyle-leisure%2Fking-s-lynn-is-left-enchanted-by-fairytale-wonderland-1-7541817.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7541814.1472046442!/image/image.jpg | en | null | King’s Lynn is left enchanted by fairytale wonderland | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Scores of families had their wishes come true on Sunday when Lynn town centre was turned into a enchanted wonderland for the Fairytale and Legends day.
From princesses to superheroes, Otto the Otter and Ted the Fox, right through to dragon Kirinya and her goblin queen, the event provided the perfect opportunity for an abundance of delight.
Fairytales and Legends in King's Lynn - Sophie Lusk (3, left) and Lucy English (7) have thier faces painted. ANL-160821-222824009
Organised by West Norfolk and the Vancouver Quarter, the day was part of programme of free public events designed to support the town centre economy.
Vancouver Quarter manager Abbie Panks said: “The event was incredibly-well attended and the feedback we’ve received has been so positive.
“The numbers coming into town on Sunday were up considerably and the figures were also up year-on-year.
“It’s so nice to put on a free event where so many children and their families could come along and get involved with all of the activities and meet so many characters.
Fairytales and Legends in King's Lynn - Learning the Cinderella dance in the Corn Exchange ANL-160821-222813009
“It was heart-warming to see.”
Miss Panks added: “We held a number of the activites at different venues across the town centre to give people the opportunity to move around to parts of the town which they perhaps wouldn’t have got to see.
“There is always something happening in the town and King’s Lynn has a very strong calendar of events.
“This month we’ve had Mods and Rockers, the folk event and Fairytales and Legends and next month we’ve got the classic cars and the heritage open day.”
A jam-packed programme kept families busy throughout the day.
Families got up close and personal with the Goblin Queen and her huge and ancient dragon Kirinya, who roamed around the Vancouver Quarter and town centre on a mystical mission.
Among the activities were a number of workshops, including fairy flowers, a superhero and princess masks, treasure chest, along with Cinderella’s Ball in the Corn Exchange, and a giant superhero photo booth in the Vancouver Quarter. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/what-s-on/lifestyle-leisure/king-s-lynn-is-left-enchanted-by-fairytale-wonderland-1-7541817 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/303571c6d37c2e7498b8df81d4b256670c45511ca1a5acc63e3de955b16a3a47.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:49:21 | null | 2016-08-27T21:07:58 | Fire crews have been called to three flooding incidents in West Norfolk this evening as torrential storms hit the area. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Ffirefighters-called-to-flooding-incidents-on-west-norfolk-coast-1-7547694.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.5863042.1472328458!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Firefighters called to flooding incidents on West Norfolk coast | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Fire crews have been called to three flooding incidents in West Norfolk this evening as torrential storms hit the area.
A Hunstanton unit removed water from a basement flat in the town’s Cliff Parade at around 6.50pm tonight.
Meanwhile, Heacham crews were called to two flooding reports in Brancaster at around 7pm.
Water was pumped out of one property on Main Road, though firefighters were stood down from a property in Broad Lane after they were told the waters had begun to subside.
The incidents happened as a band of storms reached the borough from the south-west. The bad weather has now cleared into the North Sea, according to latest radar pictures. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/firefighters-called-to-flooding-incidents-on-west-norfolk-coast-1-7547694 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/cfed2ec5d38b4cd0d9cec8dc659fcd1b09a453757587134930389e6102713dc2.json |
[
"Elizabeth Anderson"
] | 2016-08-30T10:50:35 | null | 2016-08-30T10:47:08 | A recruitment firm has been named the best company in the UK for work-life balance. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Frevealed-the-top-uk-companies-for-work-life-balance-1-7550178.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7550177.1472550409!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Revealed: The top UK companies for work-life balance | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | A recruitment firm has been named the best company in the UK for work-life balance.
Financial recruiter Goodman Masson took first place in the list by jobs site Glassdoor, based on reviews submitted to its website by current and former staff.
The company, which is based in London and also has offices in Dusseldorf, was praised by staff for its “huge investment” in staff benefits and “great” parties twice a year.
“The attention paid to the wellbeing of staff is at a level rarely matched elsewhere,” said an anonymous employee working in the London office.
In second place was technology firm Cisco Systems, and in third place was insurer HomeServe.
West Midlands-based HomeServe, which employs 1,200 people at its headquarters in Walsall and has 2.1 million customers in the UK, was commended for its attitude towards the treatment of its staff.
“The salary is very competitive and you are rewarded very generously for your hard work and just for carrying out your role. The company has a great framework for career progression and is always looking to promote people internally for job roles,” said a water supply engineer working at the firm.
Greg Reed, chief marketing officer at HomeServe, said: “We believe if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers. This means creating a culture where people genuinely enjoy coming to work every day because they feel what they do really makes a difference in our customers’ lives.”
Temping firm LOLA and Screwfix completed the top five. Other companies in the top 20 included Apple, American Express Lloyds Banking Group, Unilever and John Lewis.
Google is known for its plush offices, but doesn’t make the top 20 companies for work-life balance. Its new London office has sleep pods so workers can take a nap, although perhaps this is an indication of long hours.
For a company to have been considered, at least 50 work-life balance ratings must have been submitted by UK-based employees in the past year.
The top 20 companies for work-life balance:
1. Goodman Masson
2. Cisco Systems
3. HomeServe UK
4. LOLA Staffing
5. Screwfix
6. American Express
7. BP
8. Peninsula Business Services
9. ARM Holdings
10. Unilever
11.Thomson Reuters
12. Kantar Worldpanel
13. Atkins
14. Téléfonica
15. Credit Suisse
16. Rolls-Royce
17. John Lewis
18. Waitrose
19. Lloyds Banking Group
20. Apple | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/revealed-the-top-uk-companies-for-work-life-balance-1-7550178 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/98f864280bbc90b41f675060b4af5966c01ca1b213034562b0ac3557561e2895.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T08:48:55 | null | 2016-08-27T08:00:00 | The ex-boss of a Lynn restaurant has been banned from being a company director for seven years after failing to pay a £10,000 fine imposed for employing illegal workers. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Fformer-king-s-lynn-restaurant-boss-banned-over-non-payment-of-10-000-immigration-fine-1-7546967.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.6812466.1470321031!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Former King’s Lynn restaurant boss banned over non-payment of £10,000 immigration fine | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | The ex-boss of a Lynn restaurant has been banned from being a company director for seven years after failing to pay a £10,000 fine imposed for employing illegal workers.
The disqualification imposed on 28-year-old Mohammed Liton Miah was one of seven against directors of restaurants across the country announced by insolvency investigators on Thursday.
And insolvency officials say the case should act as a warning to others considering flouting immigration rules.
Miah, from London, was a director of India Gate Restaurant Ltd, which was placed into voluntary liquidation in August 2014, two months after being fined for employing two illegal staff.
The company’s registered office was in St James Street, Lynn, where the restaurant continues to trade.
The illegal workers were discovered during an immigration investigation.
And insolvency officials say no payment was made before the company was wound up.
Vicky Bagnall, director of investigation and enforcement, said: “Employing illegal workers is not a victimless crime.
“These directors sought an unfair advantage over their competitors by employing people under the radar who were not entitled to work legally in the UK.
“It is not acceptable to use the insolvency process to escape legal sanctions.
“This action is a warning to other employers that if you flout the law, there will be consequences.” | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/former-king-s-lynn-restaurant-boss-banned-over-non-payment-of-10-000-immigration-fine-1-7546967 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/516689eb81520452291aed1ad707e143f477a32cc3bacd21608bf42dabe7add3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:57:22 | null | 2016-08-26T07:00:00 | Councillors in West Norfolk are being asked to consider the potential closure of some of the borough’s public toilets in a bid to reduce costs. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Fwest-norfolk-council-committee-set-to-consider-public-toilet-closure-option-1-7545371.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7545370.1472160679!/image/image.jpg | en | null | West Norfolk Council committee set to consider public toilet closure option | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Councillors in West Norfolk are being asked to consider the potential closure of some of the borough’s public toilets in a bid to reduce costs.
A new report, which is set to be debated next week, has identified six sites where further assessments could take place in a move towards a potential closure or handover of responsibility for them to other groups.
Members are also set to consider whether people should be charged for using the toilets, though officials warn that similar measures elsewhere appear to have generated less income than expected.
They say the current arrangements for the facilities at car parks and other amenity sites should be unchanged.
Their report said: “Many of the toilets operated by the council are well used, being close to car parks, public transport or visitor attractions.
“Many of them are also associated with activity generated income, including car parks and amenity areas.”
But they added: “There are a number of toilets which could be considered for further work either to close or hand over to third parties.”
Among those facilities is the block in Ferry Street, which the report said should be considered for closure, but retained for use during major events, such as Festival Too.
The report said: “The block is very well used for events, but has much lower levels of use than the other King’s Lynn town centre toilets on the average day.
“It is regularly subjected to anti-social behaviour and vandalism. Consider closure but retain for events.”
Others in the list include one off Lynn Road, Gaywood, which officers said was often the subject of anti-social behaviour and is near several shops with their own facilities, plus one on the Howdale in Downham, which was said to be “isolated” and “rarely used.”
The three others mentioned for possible closure or handover include a block near the bowls club in Heacham, one in Old Hunstanton that stands next to a car park and beach huts operated by a third party and one in Holme, which the report said is leased from the Le Strange Golf Club until 2021.
The borough council currently maintains 22 public toilet blocks across the area, which it says costs £374,000 a year.
There is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide toilets.
Officials say more than £50,000 a year could be saved if enough sites were taken out of the authority’s management.
But Labour group leader John Collop warned any proposals to close facilities would not be popular and said he would fight to save the Gaywood block, which is in his ward.
He said: “Things are getting to a point where we’re going to have no facilities at all. It’s the thin end of the wedge.”
The report will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s environment and community panel next Wednesday, August 31. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/west-norfolk-council-committee-set-to-consider-public-toilet-closure-option-1-7545371 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/d9c59985482588b9b85469e78e5b6ff182a3ecee12ae986ea43432d1b329db6b.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T10:50:52 | null | 2016-08-31T10:51:13 | As a month long Think! Speed police campaign ends today new dash cam footage has been released showing the importance of the “twenty’s plenty” message often given for driving in residential streets. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Ftraffic-transport%2Fgraphic-video-dash-cam-footage-of-young-boy-being-hit-by-van-gives-stark-warning-at-end-of-police-speed-campaign-1-7553808.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7553805.1472640493!/image/image.jpg | en | null | GRAPHIC VIDEO: Dash cam footage of young boy being hit by van gives stark warning at end of police speed campaign | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Sorry, we're having problems with our video player at the moment, but are working to fix it as soon as we can
As a month long Think! Speed police campaign ends today new dash cam footage has been released showing the importance of the “twenty’s plenty” message often given for driving in residential streets.
The shocking video captures the moment a little boy gets hit by a van. The van was travelling at 20mph at the time of the collision. If it had been going just 10mph faster the likelihood of death would have been five times higher.
The shocking moment the boy ran out into the street captured on dash cam
The youngster - believed to be eight - charges out into the road between two parked vehicles and flies off the van’s bumper after being struck before tumbling onto the road and running off.
The van driver is completely unsighted and could do nothing to avoid the collision with the boy, who was badly bruised but otherwise unhurt.
Throughout August the county’s Road Policing Units have been out in force targeting motorists breaking the law.
The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to your license however drivers across the county are warned that the speed limit is a limit not a target. In some road conditions or road layouts even driving at the speed limit could be too fast.
Speed limits are not targets
Traffic Sergeant Ian Manley said: “Those who speed put not only their own lives at risk but also the lives of others.
“The faster you drive the less time you have to react. Speed remains one of the biggest factors in fatal collisions.
“The difference of a few miles per hour can mean the difference between life and death. The faster someone is driving, the less time they have to stop if something unexpected happens.
“There will be times when you need to drive under the speed limit in order to drive correctly for the conditions or layout of the road.
“I would urge anyone who drives to help us protect road users by reducing your speed and driving to the conditions of the roads.
“If you kill someone while speeding, you will have to live with the long-term emotional consequences. Remember that speed limits are there for a reason.”
* Make sure you leave plenty of time for your journey, taking into account traffic
* Watch out for changes in the speed limit
* Drive to suit the conditions and the layout of the road
* Don’t let peer pressure encourage you to break the law
* Don’t assume it’s safe to break the speed limit because there is less traffic.
* Don’t be tempted to put your foot down because the road ahead appears clear. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/traffic-transport/graphic-video-dash-cam-footage-of-young-boy-being-hit-by-van-gives-stark-warning-at-end-of-police-speed-campaign-1-7553808 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/6f657179a658ba6cfc6b0e12d1295a9ab8c10b8def5da707a5733cd30040a1b4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:42 | null | 2016-08-26T09:57:27 | King’s Lynn Stars slipped to their third consecutive home defeat as they went down 52-40 at the hands of Wolverhampton last night (Thursday 25). | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fspeedway%2Fwolves-condemn-king-s-lynn-stars-to-third-consecutive-home-loss-1-7545657.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.6049235.1472212299!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Wolves condemn King’s Lynn Stars to third consecutive home loss | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | King’s Lynn Stars slipped to their third consecutive home defeat as they went down 52-40 at the hands of Wolverhampton last night (Thursday 25).
After pulling off one of the shock results of the season by beating Elite League leaders Belle Vue on Wednesday, the Roger Warnes Transport Stars were unable to follow up their away day success on home shale.
The hosts provided just six race winners, one of which saw 36-year-old reserve Carl Wilkinson get the better of World Champion Tai Woffinden.
Said Wilkinson: “That was one of the rides of my career there’s no doubting that!
“It’s nice to know I’ve still got enough in the tank to pull off a race win like that and I was really happy with my own performance tonight.
“Unfortunately it was another disappointing night at home for the team.
“After winning at Belle Vue, we really thought we could get back to winning ways at home tonight but we just didn’t do enough over the course of the meeting.”
Wilkinson scored paid double figures while Stars No. 1 Niels-Kristian Iversen secured two race wins on his way to top scoring for the home side.
Robert Lambert had an up and down night but also claimed the scalp of Woffinden in heat 14 while Lewis Rose also scored a creditable seven points from reserve.
But with Troy Batchelor, Rory Schlein and Kai Huckenbeck scoring just six points between the three of them, the Stars struggled to put pressure on the Wolves, particularly in the second half of the meeting.
The Stars travel to Wolverhampton on Monday, while the National League Pairs takes place at the Adrian Flux Arena this Saturday.
LYNN 40: Niels-Kristian Iversen 11, Carl Wilkinson 8+2, Robert Lambert 8, Lewis Rose 7, Troy Batchelor 3, Rory Schlein 2+1, Kai Huckenbeck 1+1.
WOLVERHAMPTON 52: Tai Woffinden 14+1, Rohan Tungate 14, Freddie Lindgren 9+4, Kyle Howarth 7+1, Max Clegg 4+1, Sam Masters 4+1, Jacob Thorssell r/r. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/sport/speedway/wolves-condemn-king-s-lynn-stars-to-third-consecutive-home-loss-1-7545657 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/4703915ab250e01c635b15638ed0c48dfef636a4fc845a89e890e16b0d93f831.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:02:57 | null | 2016-08-26T07:00:03 | Beales closes its doors for a final time tomorrow, but Vancouver Quarter bosses say they expect there to be movement in the autumn with new retailers coming into the town. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fbusiness%2Fbusiness-news%2Ftenancy-hopes-for-king-s-lynn-town-centre-as-beales-closes-1-7541972.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7541971.1472049986!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Tenancy hopes for King’s Lynn town centre as Beales closes | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Beales closes its doors for a final time tomorrow, but Vancouver Quarter bosses say they expect there to be movement in the autumn with new retailers coming into the town.
The popular Broad Street store announced in April that they would be closing down after the board decided not to renew its lease in December.
A total of 38 people – several of whom have found new employment – were employed at the store.
But hopes are high that tenants can be found for the premises, while the JD Sports site, close to the Sainsbury’s supermarket, has also remained empty for close to four years.
Vancouver Quarter manager Abbie Panks said: “There are some positive changes happening in the town centre and we are expecting more movement in the coming months.
“We are being pro-active about bringing new businesses into the town and expect to have some news very soon.
“The vacancy rate for the town centre remains below the national average, which is very good for the town.”
On the closure of Beales, Miss Panks said: “The store has been part of the town for more than 30 years and I can remember going in there with my grandparents as a child.
“It has been a big part of the town for a long time and we are very sad to see it close.”
Sports Direct is relocating from its current premises in High Street but no announcement has yet been made as to where its new home will be. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/business/business-news/tenancy-hopes-for-king-s-lynn-town-centre-as-beales-closes-1-7541972 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/9c1560330ecd1e221e6e9d250e6cf51a8aff333cd80470e541edd9e494af29ed.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:43 | null | 2016-08-26T10:25:50 | On a bright and breezy Saturday, the North West Norfolk Bowls League held its annual Finals Day on the Heacham Social Club green. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fother-sport%2Fdocking-do-north-west-norfolk-finals-day-bowls-double-1-7545745.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7545744.1472203533!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Docking do North West Norfolk Finals Day bowls double | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | On a bright and breezy Saturday, the North West Norfolk Bowls League held its annual Finals Day on the Heacham Social Club green.
Both games were played determinedly, but sportingly, with both results being disputed until the closing ends.
In the Subsidiary Cup, Snettisham Excelsior met Docking B, the latter of whom were seeking a league/cup double.
Throughout, the quality of play saw frequent changes in lead, with all players able to find that ‘special bowl’ when needed. Gradually Docking were able to pull away in one block, although the closeness of the others kept Snettisham in with a chance to win.
As the final ends were played the Docking team were able to clinch a second block, and achieve a win by 6 points to 4.
Between matches, the league trophies were presented by the president, Mr Phillip Lee, assisted by the chair, Mr Richard Bridges. The winners of Division One were Docking A, with South Creake as runners-up; the Second Division winners being Docking B, ahead of Rudham United.
After a short break for rain, the Ridley Cup final between Docking A and Burnham Coronation began. This cup was first played for in 1931, and its history includes many winning clubs who have since disbanded.
The quality of the play from both sides did this history proud, with, as earlier, the result being undecided until the final end. The score remained close, and it was still balanced until the final bowls. Eventually, the scores were tallied and Docking A had emulated their B team and won by 6 points to 4.
The prizes were again presented to the captains by the president and chair, followed by the drawing of the raffle.
The league committee would like to thank Heacham Social Club for the use of their green, Maureen and Sue for running the raffle, those who provided prizes and especially those who supported their teams on the day. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/sport/other-sport/docking-do-north-west-norfolk-finals-day-bowls-double-1-7545745 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/7f2646787f42a743dc3cca4ce80eb790063c017ae57fb43168a2da034ebc7ec6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:39 | null | 2016-08-25T14:00:00 | Fun, music and fundraising is the name of the game at Rachel-Fest being staged at the Downham Market Club on Sunday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fwhat-s-on%2Flifestyle-leisure%2Frachel-fest-special-day-at-downham-market-club-1-7543208.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7543204.1472119188!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Rachel-Fest special day at Downham Market Club | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Fun, music and fundraising is the name of the game at Rachel-Fest being staged at the Downham Market Club on Sunday.
And it will also celebrate the memory and life of Rachel Lynskey, who died shortly after last year’s inaugural event was held.
The Vulpes
The club states on its Facebook page: “We are doing this in memory of the wonderful lady that was Rachel Lynskey. We know that she was very dear to a lot of our members and local members of our community and what better way to keep her in our memories than to raise money for this very worthy cause (the Macmillan Cancer Unit at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital).
“Secondly we wanted to do something a little different. We would like to donate some of the money raised towards Festival Too.
“Many of us utilise and enjoy this event and it is all for free, but they need to raise money for a new stage so let’s try and help them on their way so that we can carry on enjoying this fabulous, local annual event.”
Triston Finnis, of Twisted Melon Promotions, who hosted last year’s festival, is again much involved and he said: “Rachel’s family, Downham Market Club and myself have decided this will now become an annual event.
The Killing Culture
“This year we will again be raising funds for the Macmillan Unit and also a donation will be made to Festival Too as a gesture to the local music scene.
“In fact the Downham Club will be raising funds over the whole weekend with various events and details can be found on both their website and Facebook pages.
“Rachel-Fest is from 1pm to 9pm on Sunday and bands performing include Among The Citizens, Vulpes, The Killing Culture, No Way Home plus a very special performance from ‘Run It’s DMC’ the Downham Market Club band and last, but definitely not least, Rachel’s husband Pat’s band Off The Wagon.
“As well as a fantastic line up of local musical talent and loads of guest ciders at only £2 a pint there will be a barbecue, bouncy castle, raffle, stalls, car boot, face painting and much much more.” | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/what-s-on/lifestyle-leisure/rachel-fest-special-day-at-downham-market-club-1-7543208 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/a8d2ee3f44f3af9871398d2752889595926ceb26cbcfa0e83668fa446068d294.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:50:09 | null | 2016-08-29T14:08:43 | Lynn’s police force was kept busy over the bank holiday weekend, as the service announced it had caught a number of drink drivers on the roads in the town. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Fwest-norfolk-police-kept-busy-1-7548947.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7548946.1472476103!/image/image.jpg | en | null | West Norfolk police kept busy | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Lynn’s police force was kept busy over the bank holiday weekend, as the service announced it had caught a number of drink drivers on the roads in the town.
On Monday at 4.33am the force tweeted: “Just arrested a drink driver on Hardwick Road. Now in the cells sobering up and then will be charged to court! #WasTheWineWorthIt? #Sgt3121.”
A couple of minutes later at 4.35am, it posted on Twitter: “Drink driver arrested driving wrong way down Railway Road #OffToCourtForYouThen! #Sgt3121.”
There was more drink-related business for the police to attend to in the area, as it also wrote of its search for a drunk and disorderly person in North Lynn on Sunday.
Lynn police tweeted at 7.44pm: “Officers now out searching for a drunk and disorderly male in North Lynn, wearing only Union Jack boxer shorts!! #Sgt3121.”
The search was over reasonably quickly, as this post was followed up by another at 8.09pm which read: “Mr ‘Union Jack pants’ man located and dealt with. #Sgt3121.”
Police forces across the county dealt with similar drink and drug driving cases over the bank holiday weekend in Great Yarmouth, Postwick and Breckland, among others. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/west-norfolk-police-kept-busy-1-7548947 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/d96faba086103beb39e2b8bc8d8f4ac3320a49d886d78a97a5fdfe2e52fc426a.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:51:14 | null | 2016-08-30T15:45:10 | Helpers at a community cycling event which attracted hundreds of people to Fakenham at the weekend have been hailed as a “great advert” for the town. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Fhundreds-pedal-off-for-fakenham-50-1-7550973.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7550969.1472568280!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Hundreds pedal off for Fakenham 50 | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Helpers at a community cycling event which attracted hundreds of people to Fakenham at the weekend have been hailed as a “great advert” for the town.
The Fakenham 50 event, which took place on Sunday, was one of the highlights of the town’s annual week-long programme of Active Fakenham activities.
Riders take part in the Fakenham 50 cycle ride around North Norfolk. ANL-160828-201401009
Around 300 people from around the country, took part in the event, which offered distances of between 16 and 100 miles around West and North Norfolk.
The longer routes included one of the area’s most famous landmarks, Holkham Hall, which drew widespread praise from participants, and stretched from Harpley to Holt at its most distant points.
But the event’s co-ordinator, Richard Crook, reserved his highest praise for the volunteers who helped to keep participants going around the route.
He said: “They worked tirelessly, never stopped smiling and were always welcoming – a great advert for Fakenham.”
Riders take part in the Fakenham 50 cycle ride around North Norfolk - Jim Harding out on the route ANL-160828-201350009
The event was one of more than 40 held around the town during the week.
The programme included the chance to try out a host of activities ranging from Balkan dancing to karate, while anyone inspired by what they saw during the Rio Olympics had the opportunity to try out table tennis and touch rugby.
The town’s annual fair and food festival took place on Saturday afternoon, while the ride itself was followed by a garden party at the community centre. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/hundreds-pedal-off-for-fakenham-50-1-7550973 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/e20b0224d6b4acd524db1ce4f5091f2d6c0534df0f189971534dde8bf2cff72b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:07:19 | null | 2016-08-25T10:30:57 | This year’s Thornham Family Fun Day and Dog Show looks to be bigger and better than ever. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fwhat-s-on%2Flifestyle-leisure%2Fclassic-cars-and-canines-top-the-bill-at-thornham-family-fun-day-1-7543093.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7543092.1472116671!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Classic cars and canines top the bill at Thornham Family Fun Day | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | This year’s Thornham Family Fun Day and Dog Show looks to be bigger and better than ever.
Held on the playing field and the adjacent village hall, it all starts at noon on Sunday and runs through to 4.30pm, with a packed programme to entertain all the family.
Hunstanton Concert Band will set the tone at the start with their lively selection of popular music with a swing.
And following the great success of the dog show last year it returns with a number of fun competitions to finish with a ‘best in show’ award; registration opens at 12.30pm with entry fee of £1 per category.
The classic car display has been a long-standing feature of the Thornham event and organiser John Needham anticipates another excellent turnout.
Vintage and classic cars of all shapes and sizes with gleaming chrome and paintwork and enthusiastic owners are sure to draw attention.
A bottle of Champagne will be awarded to owner of the most popular vehicle in a public vote.
On the playing field there will be many attractions for children including games, crafts, competitions and face painting, a bouncy castle and slide.
Inside the village hall a number of quality stalls with goods for sale will offer something different in addition to a raffle and tombola.
Refreshments, a barbecue and a bar will be available during the day. Admission is £2 for adults which includes a lucky number draw for a meal for two at a popular local venue as first prize; accompanied children admitted free.
Proceeds from the event will go to support Thornham Village Hall and playing field in its maintenance and development programme.
The following day, Bank Holiday Monday, sees a new initiative from the successful and growing Thornham Cricket Club, with a six-a-side cricket competition. A number of local sides have been invited to take part by cricket stalwart Steve Lucas, and there is a cash prize for the winning team. A bar will be available and families, supporters and cricket enthusiasts are all welcome to attend. Admission is free, with the cricket club and hall trustees hoping this will become an annual event.
CLENCHWARTON’S village fun day is being held on Saturday from 10am to 4pm to raise funds for a new community centre. There will be an array of games and stalls on the village playing field in Hall Road with something for all the family, including a traditional coconut shy, a bouncy castle, inflatable slide and a range of beauty stalls. There will also be hot food stalls and live music from two local bands. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/what-s-on/lifestyle-leisure/classic-cars-and-canines-top-the-bill-at-thornham-family-fun-day-1-7543093 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/07d07321a7778c06169cc2e6e0d2f7ff5216a3806d48d2cd2367e522410d6800.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T12:50:16 | null | 2016-08-27T12:42:57 | Hethersett & Tas Valley CC will contest the Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League’s Challenge Cup with Swaffham CC. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Fswaffham-and-snettisham-to-contest-mid-norfolk-sunday-cricket-league-bank-holiday-finals-1-7546214.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.6049235.1472212299!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Swaffham and Snettisham to contest Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League bank holiday finals | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Hethersett & Tas Valley CC will contest the Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League’s Challenge Cup with Swaffham CC.
The final will be played at the Sprowston CC, Barkers Lane ground, on August 29 Bank Holiday Monday. The start time will be 1pm.
Swaffham, from the west of the county, defeated North Runcton on their way to the final whilst Hethersett & Tas Valley triumphed over a strong Norwich CC side as well as an in-form Reepham & Salle.
League chairman, Colin King, said: “This is going to be a tough final with both sides highly deserving of being there.
“They are two fine teams who, I know, will play some great cricket. I am really looking forward to seeing them perform.”
The umpires will be Chris Free and Chris Palmer.
Meanwhile, the Broke Cup Final will also be contested on the same day at Sprowston CC and sees two “teams of the moment” competing. Barney, which is quite probably the last true village cricket side in Norfolk, will be taking on Snettisham from the west of the county.
King commented: “If you look at this match from the League’s position, then Barney would be fancied for the title but then Snettisham is having an excellent season and are playing well above their ranking in the league. Either team could win this. Both teams want to win this. Let battle commence”.
The umpires will be James MacArthur and Kevin Bowman.
There is plenty of space to both park and watch the matches. Everyone is most welcome. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/sport/cricket/swaffham-and-snettisham-to-contest-mid-norfolk-sunday-cricket-league-bank-holiday-finals-1-7546214 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/1be58f72e02c7e6c995b17e75c8a995faffb63d70c79bc0acb3bc6ea444c6533.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T08:51:01 | null | 2016-08-28T08:47:56 | Saturday, September 3 sees King’s Lynn Cycling Club hosting a charity fun day and 10-mile time trial on the Tottenhill course they use during the recent TT season. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fother-sport%2Fcharity-king-s-lynn-cycling-club-fun-day-at-tottenhill-1-7546224.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.6049235.1472212299!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Charity King’s Lynn Cycling Club fun day at Tottenhill | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | Saturday, September 3 sees King’s Lynn Cycling Club hosting a charity fun day and 10-mile time trial on the Tottenhill course they use during the recent TT season.
The club this year will be raising money for The AT Society (Ataxia Telangiectasia).
Tottenhill Village Hall will be open from 11.30am. A bike jumble and a Go Ride session will be for the younger riders between noon and 2pm. Time trial signing on is from noon to 1.30pm. First rider off at 2pm.
Usual CTT rules apply for with a helmet and rear working light Cost is £3 for adults and £2 for juniors with appropriate parental consent form. Guest riders allowed (those that have never ridden a TT before).
Come along and enter on the day.
If anyone wishes to donate they can bring on the day or deliver to the offices of club chairman Phillip Seaman at West Norfolk Insurance Services Ltd at 24 Tuesday Market Place in King’s Lynn, PE30 1JJ. | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/sport/other-sport/charity-king-s-lynn-cycling-club-fun-day-at-tottenhill-1-7546224 | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/a22293efdfab230de96add670e549a810111c11edf8d3e7a7da82554bdd28366.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T06:50:48 | null | 2016-08-31T06:00:00 | A parenting advice website has listed the most popular baby names so far in 2016 and revealed previous favourites such as Sophia, Mia, Daniel and Harrison are on the decline. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynnnews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Flatest-local-news%2Frevealed-the-most-popular-baby-names-so-far-in-2016-1-7543534.json | http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_300,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/webimage/1.7543532.1472565238!/image/image.jpg | en | null | REVEALED - the most popular baby names so far in 2016 | null | null | www.lynnnews.co.uk | A parenting advice website has listed the most popular baby names so far in 2016 and revealed previous favourites such as Sophia, Mia, Daniel and Harrison are on the decline.
Bounty Baby Club, a popular parenting advice site, has scaled its 100,000 visitors a month, to uncover the most popular baby names of the first half of 2016 and there are a few surprises.
A few favourites of recent years are still holding their popularity but the results reveal some new up and coming themes and trends.
The favourites
Holding onto their 2015 top spots, Alfie and Isla remain the most popular names for boys and girls. Out of the top 100 most popular names, the biggest winners have been Caleb, jumping up nine positions to 19, Jenson, rising up five places to 26 and Ellie, rising up nine positions to nine.
The biggest climber so far this year has been Arlo, previously was outside of the top 50, now cementing a top 10 position at number six. Other names you may start to hear more include Freddie, Aaron, Phoebe, Ellis and Millie.
So what names are falling out of favour this year?
Results show that for girls, Sienna, Mia, Sophia, Mila and Scarlett are on the decline in 2016. Yesterday’s news for boys’ names include Dylan, Sebastian, Daniel and Harrison which are proving less popular than they have in recent years.
There is a new trend of baby names emerging from Bounty’s findings, vowel heavy names, particularly for girls. Male names ending in a softer letter are also becoming more popular, for example names such as Alfie, Arlo, Archie and Harry.
Take a look at the top 10 for boys and girls for the first half of the year below:
Top 10 most popular baby boy names of 2016 so far:
Alfie
Oscar
Teddy
Harry
Jack
Arlo
Noah
Charlie
Jacob
Archie
Top 10 most popular baby girl names of 2016 so far:
Isla
Amelia
Ava
Freya
Evie
Olivia
Esme
Elsie
Mia
Ellie | http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/latest-local-news/revealed-the-most-popular-baby-names-so-far-in-2016-1-7543534 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.lynnnews.co.uk/57db311fc99d81570191469079832bbd8b9dfb2ffdb78adc3dd98b2c8a4d0ad4.json |
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