Rising local band The A Team will take its much talked-about stage show on the road next weekend when The Aggregation is scheduled to first appear at the Road Town Festival Village Grounds on August 2.

It then makes an appearance at the Carrot Bay Festival Grounds on August 7 before wrapping up its three-leg tour on August 9 back at the Road Town Festival Grounds.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us to showcase what we can do to new audiences. We are ready to represent T&T and ourselves the best way we know how, with a memorable enjoyable show,” said the band’s manager Zarin Morean of the upcoming tour.

The A Team, which features an eclectic blend of experienced musicians from a wide background of musical genres, has quickly built a reputation for thrilling audiences with their dynamic musical sets which include jazz, pop, Latin, dance hall, soca and reggae.

The A Team frontline includes soca veteran Eddie Charles alongside dynamic Jazz vocalist Kerlene “Kerlz” Joseph and Tobago-born crooner Abbyshi Jackson.

The British Virgin Islands’ Emancipation Festival is a celebration of the slaves earning freedom on the islands in the 1800’s. 

The annual event features cultural displays, music, pageantry, a food fair, folklore presentations and a J’Ouvert street party. 

Om Puri and Helen Mirren are getting romantic! The two star in the upcoming American comedy-drama The Hundred-Foot Journey along with Manish Dayal and Juhi Chawla. Described as “a wonderful co-star” by Puri, the British actress even helped him with his waltz moves in the dance scene. 

The rapport was great off camera, and he even cooked a few times for her: “She loved the Indian food,” he said. The two sort of romance each other in the film, and it would be interesting to see how this good relationship plays-off on screen. 

“The special thing in this film would be that I am acting with Helen Mirren and they fall in love with each other. She is my Smita Patil,” said Om Puri. 

In other movie news: Kahaani is getting a Hollywood remake! The movie, called Deity, is a thriller about an American woman who goes to Kolkata in search of her missing husband. As she gets closer to the truth, she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous conspiracy. The story unfolds in the context of a colourful, week-long festival. We’re excited to see how this one compares to the previous Vidya Balan starrer.

Speaking of festival, Aishwarya Rai attended the opening ceremony of the 20th Commonwealth Games in Scotland last Wednesday as the Longines Ambassador of Elegance. Rai looked beautiful as always in a black coat, with her tresses tied in a bun. 

The Swiss luxury watch brand is the official timekeeper and watch of the games. It provides more than 190 timekeepers and 122 tonnes of equipment to support the event. Longines is also the presenting partner of the gymnastics competitions and has been involved in the games since1962 when it was the timekeeper of the event in Perth, Australia.

#BollyTalks wonders if Trinidadian Keshorn Walcott caught sight of the Bollywood babe, now that would have been a picture!

Cases of the contagious and deadly “superbug” known as CRE increased five-fold in community hospitals from 2008 to 2012 in the Southeastern US, according to a new study. 

And while the actual number of patients discovered was low—305—the worry is that CRE infections are under-reported and threaten health care facilities nationwide, said one of the report’s authors. CRE is an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that usually strikes people in hospitals, nursing homes and other health centres.

“This is a wakeup call for hospitals on how to detect the disease,” said Dr Joshua Thaden, one of the leading authors for the study published in the August issue of the medical journal, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 

“And the reason this is very serious is because of the high mortality rate (50 per cent) of CRE,” Thaden explained. “The fact that we’re seeing an increase is concerning.” 

The study was conducted at 25 community hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia from January 2008 through December 2012.

Adding to the concern is a report published last month that found another superbug, MRSA, at firehouses in Washington state. 

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Public Health tested 33 firehouses for the presence of MRSA. The bug was found at 19 of those firehouses on ambulances, trucks and on kitchen surfaces. 

Twelve crews reported having at least one member who had gotten an infection requiring medical care. No deaths have been reported. 

Dr Allison Bartlett, an infectious disease specialist with La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, said it’s no surprise the bacteria was found where it was. 

“Living in close quarters and a lack of frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces likely all contribute to the high rates of bacterial contamination,” she said. 

MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and is another drug-resistant bacteria. It causes a range of illnesses, from skin and wound infections to pneumonia and bloodstream infections that can cause sepsis and death. 

Anyone can get MRSA through direct contact with an infected wound or by sharing personal items, such as towels or razors, that have touched infected skin.

There are more than 80,000 cases of MRSA detected each year in the US, with a reported 11,285 deaths.

CRE, is the acronym for Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Because the various strains of the bacteria are mostly resistant to antibiotics, it’s known as a superbug. 

CRE can be transferred from a patient to the hands of the care provider, like a doctor or nurse, and from their hands to another patient. An estimated 9,300 people in the US are infected by CRE every year, resulting in around 600 deaths. 

All in all, there are at least two million illnesses reported each year from the various superbugs, resulting in more than 23,000 deaths, according to the CDC. 

Since most CRE cases—and even some MRSA infections—usually start in health care facilities, pressure has been mounting in hospitals to do a better job of tracking them, said Dr Cristie Columbus, vice dean for Texas A&M College of Medicine. 

“Many of them have adopted new laboratory guidelines for improving detection,” she said. 

Columbus said that once infections have been detected, proper infection control, like patient isolation, needs to be implemented. 

Medical experts say that the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals has led to the spread of superbugs.

That overuse is likely to continue in animals after a panel of the US Second Court of Appeals ruled last Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration does not have to consider banning the practice of feeding antibiotics to animals that are not sick. (CNBC)

Fifteen years after notorious crime lord Dole Chadee (Nankissoon Boodram) and his murderous gang of eight were hanged, the quiet village of Piparo still recoils in fear by just the mention of his name. Chadee, who ran his drug empire from a sprawling mansion on 100 acres of state land was caught in a murder conspiracy and convicted on the testimony of one of his trusted henchmen, Levi Morris, in 1996. 

Two weeks ago, a Guardian team visited the community, and came across Chadee’s younger son, Shiva Boodram, 34, who  spoke about his father first time. “That was my father’s era. It is a different time now. He did what he had to do to make money and whatever stigma there was or there still is, I can say it has not been transferred to us.” Boodram, was at a farm his father previously operated rearing chicken and sheep. Boodram said he left his career in the insurance industry to take over the operations at the farm. 

On June 4, 1999, Chadee, 47, walked to the gallows. He was never convicted on drug charges. However, he was found guilty of ordering the murders of Hamilton Baboolal, his sister, Monica and their parents. Two children, Osmond and Sumatee Baboolal survived the attack. Osmond later turned to a life of drugs. Eight of Chadee’s followers, including his key lieutenant Joey Ramiah, were also sent to the gallows in June 1999. 

Boodram still believes that his father was innocent and had nothing to do with the Baboolal’s killings. “Real reasons exist as to why the Baboolal family was killed. The truth is yet to be told. Ramiah and they worked for my dad, but how it went down, it was never like that.”
He said he believed that his father had a falling out with the Baboolals and may have made threats to kidnap or ordered them to be beaten but not killed.

Joey Ramiah and that gang had liked to kill. I believe that when somebody close to you want to impress you, they will do anything to impress.” Amin Baksh, 82, who lives a stone’s throw away from Chadee’s Hindu temple, said she knew him very well. She said her daughter worked as a maid for Chadee eventually bearing him a daughter. One of her sons was employed as one of Chadee’s drivers.

“Dole Chadee was a very good man. He gave everybody money. One time he gave me a bucket full of money in coins. It worked up to be about $400 and I could have buy anything I wanted with that,” Baksh said. She, however, admitted that once someone crossed him, he dealt with them accordingly, “He would behave very badly. He would quarrel, fight and would want to shoot. I remember clearly one day something happened and he chopped someone very badly. They were washing down the blood from the road.”

She added that people were afraid of him but claimed that she did not know why. “Dole used to sell drugs, but you know, when children get big you can’t rule them anymore.” 

Chadee was known as the king of cocaine in T&T at that time, just as Colombian Pablo Escobar, who was a notorious and wealthy Colombian drug lord. Escobar is regarded as one of the wealthiest criminals in history, with an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by the early 1990s. He was killed in December 1993 by Colombian security forces in Medellin.

It was said that Chadee and Escobar carried similar traits in the underworld and were believed to be connected in one way or the other. Boodram said growing up he never knew his father to be involved in drugs and killings, but as a young boy would always wonder how his dad had so much of money.

“I remember asking him when I was six years old, ‘Daddy how come you have so much money’ and he told me that when he go to bed at night, he would pray and ask God for money and when he got up in the morning he would get the money,” Boodram said laughingly. “If he was into anything he did not do or say anything around us. I never see the ship load of drugs, the underground world, the execution house, the piranhas and I have never seen him throw acid on anyone.”

Some villagers in Piparo, however, strongly believe that Dole Chadee’s ‘legacy’ still lives on. Too scared to elaborate, villagers assured that they knew what they were referring to and why. Boodram, however, assured that the past was his father’s past. “Seeing him in the way he interacted with people I think that nobody had a fear for him. I have heard people refer to him as a monster but at the end of the day he helped the community by funding funerals and sending children to school.”

He said his father was a businessman, who never liked conflict or looked for enemies. Boodram said his father championed the cause for a proper education and ensured that his children were educated. He said that whenever they strayed from the right path, they would often get lectures from him. 

“He was more like a psychologist to us. He never spoke about his past. His mantra to us was study, study, study, don’t ever stop studying. My father was very educated as well. He also spoke broken Spanish. I remember his library full of law and history books. He knew it from the inside, out.”

In his last few moments, Boodram said, his father was very calm. He said during a visit with him, Chadee insisted that he continue with his studies and ensured that he took care of his sheep, goat and chickens. He was also coaxed into writing several thank you letters on behalf of his father to recipients he chose not to disclose.

“At first when they hanged my dad I was very angry. Then confused and sad. However, after years I have now gotten over it and moved on. At that time there was no one to counsel you...that’s why I needed my family around and moved back here to live from London.”
Boodram said his objective is to help people; to try and provide employment for his villagers on his farms.

“First of all, I can’t just give words of encouragement, but actions. If anyone want assistance I will help them out. It will be charity from my heart. I have a good mind.” Boodram sent a message to the government, to make use of all the lands that were seized after his father was incarcerated, “in such a way that it would provide employment and development of the Piparo community.”

One of the state lands seized housed Dole Chadee's mansion, where he lived. That house has since been transformed into a $30 million Piparo Empowerment Centre. It serves as a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts.

Many persons turn to the courts as a remedy where they feel aggrieved or wronged. Before making the decision to pursue litigation, there are several factors you should consider. The first step is to identify what type of action you expect from the proposed defendant. This may include an apology or explanation, an assurance or undertaking that the 'wrong' would not reoccur, or compensation.

A decision whether or not a case should be taken forward is a question of balancing the financial and other risks involved against the benefits.  Litigation can be unpredictable both as to outcome and costs. Even if you have complete confidence in your case, there is no such thing as a "sure thing" when it comes to litigation. Some of the factors you should consider are:
• Might the dispute be settled early? Will the other side fight all the way, or is it likely that a settlement can be reached?
• If the claim succeeds will the other side be able to pay the compensation?
• Will expensive expert evidence be needed?

The legal position may be complicated. You should consult an attorney-at-law as soon as possible for guidance with regards to the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed claim. 

Pre-action protocols require a “cards on the table approach”. Information and evidence must be exchanged early. You are expected to explore every avenue to resolve the case. This includes mediation and negotiation. Failure to do this may result in heavy penalties being imposed by the court. This therefore requires early investigation of the facts, analysis of the law, gathering documents and instructions of experts.

Generally you have 4 years to bring a civil claim/ action against a defendant. This is known as the limitation period. This period varies depending on the type of claim. The date that the time begins to run is established by taking the date of the loss that you suffered. Once this time has passed, the claim becomes barred by law. You should consider who your witnesses will be. Your attorney-at-law will need to interview them and prepare witness statements ideally while their recollection of the facts is still fresh.

A court case starts with one side in a dispute filing a claim in the Magistrates’ Court or the High Court. Details are then sent to the defendant. The defendant can admit liability, make an offer to settle or defend the claim. The court will give directions for the hearing including setting out a timetable. Each side will need to disclose relevant documents to each other before the hearing. Missing any deadlines may mean that you may lose the right to continue the claim.

You should be prepared to compromise both before and during any court case. The parties can settle either in or out of court, at any time before judgment. A good attorney-at-law will be able to provide a clear explanation of the legal position and an indication of the likely expense that you may incur.

This column is not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should consult a legal adviser. Co-ordinator: Roshan Ramcharitar

Each week, the Guardian Angel column highlights complaints sent in by you, the consumer, and provides solutions or directs you to the appropriate resource.

Problem: Joan Cournand of Diego Martin said, “After about two months’ constant invitation, I decided to accept an offer from Blink Entertainment. “The package included cable services, upgrade of internet service, unlimited calls to landlines, as well as other services. I gave my ID number, my passport number to Genecia Ramlal in the month of June, expecting to be hooked up in July.”

But, Ms Cournand said, “Since then I terminated the previous cable service I had. Every time I call I get the runaround. Kindly investigate this for me to find out what is the problem. As I anticipate your findings I do so without any cable service.”

Solution: TSTT explained that there was an issue with the bandwidth needed to provide Ms Cournand with the cable service, which has since been resolved. In three to five days someone should be contacting her to schedule an appointment to install the cable aspect of her package.

Problem: Sita Balroop lives in Moruga with her two children. Her husband died of a heart attack three years ago, making it difficult for her to raise her children by herself, as she works with Cepep. Her ten-year-old daughter Ranjana, who was born deaf, attends Dretchi (Diagnostic Research and Therapeutic Centre for the Hearing Impaired) in Port-of-Spain monthly to receive speech therapy. In November 2013, Dretchi took Ranjana's hearing aid to send it to Canada for service. Ms Balroop said since then her daughter has been without it. 

Solution: Almarie Jacque, the clinical director/co-ordinator and acting executive officer at Dretchi, said Ms Balroop's daughter has two hearing aids and does have one at present. Ms Jacque said the hearing aid that was sent to Canada has since been serviced and was returned to Trinidad, but it needs to be reprogrammed. It should be ready in time for the reopening of school in September. 

Ms Jacque said as a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Dretchi depends on the generosity of others and government subventions, and as a result is experiencing difficulty in getting someone who can reprogramme the hearing aid.

Facebook Inc said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its probe into the social networking company over events surrounding its controversial initial public offering. In its quarterly report filed last Thursday, Facebook said the regulator in May “notified us that it had terminated its inquiry and that no enforcement action had been recommended by the SEC.”

Facebook shares began trading on May 18, 2012, but soon fell below their US$38 per share offering price and had lost more than half their value by the middle of August, angering investors. The launch had been tarnished by technology problems that delayed trading and caused difficulty in processing trades.

Investors also complained they were not told just prior to the IPO that analysts at Facebook’s investment banks were cutting their forecasts after learning of the company’s internal projections for advertising revenue. The end of the SEC probe does not affect shareholder litigation against Facebook, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and many banks over the Menlo Park, California-based company’s IPO. This litigation remains pending in Manhattan federal court.

Reuters

This weekend’s visit of the Japanese Prime Minister and senior officials of Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals, who are involved in a joint venture with local conglomerate Massy Holdings to construct dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol plants, is an indication that Government is doing something right, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said.

She was speaking at Thursday’s National Gas Company’s (NGC) appreciation cocktail evening at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel, Port-of-Spain. She said NGC’s $6.5 billion 2013 after-tax profit was the highest in its history. “It makes the NGC easily the most profitable locally-owned company and one of the most profitable companies in the region. The NGC contributes significantly to the treasury by way of taxes and dividends. It is therefore fitting that the Government as the shareholder recognise this achievement.”

The Prime Minister said Government’s vision for the NGC is for it to become a global player in energy. 

“As the company continues to grow, it must look beyond these shores and seek out opportunities in the region and internationally. Indeed, many relationships have been forged in the Caribbean region, China, India, Japan and Africa. It is time to turn these relationships into investment opportunities, subject, of course, to proper due diligence. Record level investments and record level profits will mean little if it doesn’t reach the man on the street,” the Prime Minister said.

She said there are many examples in the world of resource-rich countries that have low levels of human development. “T&T has, thankfully, walked a different path,” she said. She said NGC is today at the very core of the economy of T&T, said the Prime Minister. “It operates over 1,000 kilometres of pipeline, supplies natural gas to six power plants, the Point Lisas Industrial Estate and Atlantic.

All our electricity now comes from natural gas. That means that every light bulb, every refrigerator, every air-conditioning unit, every washing machine and every laptop is operating on electricity that comes from a power plant that is being fuelled by natural gas supplied by the NGC.” 

“In the last three years under the guidance of the Government and the Ministry of Energy, the NGC has been transformed from a company that was charged with the responsibility for aggregating, transporting and marketing natural gas to a fully integrated natural gas company with a presence across the natural gas value chain. “The transformation of the company is historic and has come about through three strategic decisions. 

These were, firstly, the self-marketing of its LNG cargoes that were associated with its 11 per cent shareholding in Train IV. Secondly the acquisition of Conoco Phillip’s shares in Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd and, thirdly, the acquisition of Total’s upstream assets,” the Prime Minister said.She said these decisions are in keeping with the Government’s energy policy that speaks to increasing national participation in the energy sector, meaning participation by the local private sector.

She said the Government’s energy policy also seeks to create an enabling environment that attracts investment while giving the State a fair return for the monetisation of its resources. 

“It is therefore good to see that investment in the energy sector has been very buoyant in the last three years and has recovered from a period of doldrums where it was in 2008-2010,” Persad-Bissessar said. “In fact, the levels of investment in the energy sector in the period 2011-2014 is the highest in the history of the sector. These strategic decisions, coupled with a forward-looking energy policy, have led to a significant improvement in the performance of the NGC.”

It seems the spirit of giving is spreading as Nutrimix Flour Mills on Friday announced temporary 20 per cent price reduction on its premium grade and Country Pride brands of flour in celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr and Emancipation Day. This came one day after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s announcement a “gift to the nation” of a temporary 20 per cent reduction in prices of select brands of flour, rice and oil. 

Persad-Bissessar, addressing last Thursday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, announced that effective July 26 to August 1, there will be a 20 per cent discount on Ibis brand all purpose flour (2kg, 10kg); Hibiscus brand all purpose flour (2kg and 10kg), Lotus brand of all purpose, whole wheat, bakers and cake flour (2kg and 10kg), Good N’ Natural brand of whole wheat flour and Lotus brand soya bean oil (all sizes – 500ml, 900ml, 1.5 l, 3l, 5l and 17.25l). 

Additionally, Lotus brand rice (all sizes – 1kg, 2kg, 4kg and 9kg), Cuisine brand all purpose flour 2kg and Club Select all purpose flour 10 kg have also been discounted. This announcement followed the Prime Minister’s announcement of discounted the prices of flour, rice and soya bean oil before Christmas 2013. Prior to that, she announced Government’s decision to remove VAT from more than 7,000 items in 2012.

Yesterday Nutrimix vice president Ronnie Mohammed, in a media release, announced that the effective last Friday until August 1, the prices of Nutrimix premium grade and Country Pride 2kg and 10kg packages will be reduced. Mohammed, in the release, said, “We kindly ask all stakeholders along supply chain that they pass on this significant savings to customers.” He also extended Eid Mubarak and Emancipation Day greetings to the nation. 

On Friday, some supermarkets made the prices changes on the brands identified by Persad-Bissessar on Thursday, even though it was to take effect from July 25. At MS Food City, located at SS Erin Road, Debe, Southern Food Basket and Massy Stores, Marabella branch, the price changes were made. However an official at MS Food City said there was no rush for the discounted products on Friday. 

“It was slow today. The price changes were made, but did not have much customers coming in to say that there was a rush for flour, rice and oil,” the official said. It was the same situation at Massy Stores, Marabella. Manager Nicole Rodriguez said recorded normal sale on Friday. However, Rodriguez hastened to add that this may change. 

“Maybe over the weekend, it would have more (demand). It is only the 25th, so you would find more (purchases) over the weekend. Yes, we have enough stocks for the rush. All the prices changes have been made already,” she said. At Xtra Foods, Chaguanas, there was a demand for the discounted products. Yesterday an Xtra Foods, an official said customers came in and asked for the discounted products, but there were none in stock at the Chaguanas Main Road branch.

The official said stocks have been ordered from National Flour Mills (NFM). “We are waiting on delivery from NFM and  we should get that by tomorrow (Friday). I guess there has been a backlog of requests for the product now that there will be a demand. Customers have been coming in and asking for the brands. But we do not normally carry all of the brands of flour, rice and oil like Lotus. In Arima and Grand Bazaar, we have it, but we do not carry here in Chaguanas. We are waiting of delivery tomorrow (Friday),” the official said. 

Planning and Sustainable Development Minister Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie on Friday urged the private sector to take advantage of investment opportunities, failing which foreigners will step in. Using the example of Chinese business people opening up restaurants and groceries everywhere in the last five years, he said, “We cannot blame anybody. The private sector needs to be on the ball and you got to take advantage of the opportunities that are available.

 “If you do not invest in your own country, looking outwards, people from other countries will come here and invest looking both outwards and inwards and, therefore, you are going to lose the space that you can easily occupy.” Tewarie was speaking at the first national consultation on the SouthWest Peninsula Growth Pole at Paria Suites Hotel and Conference Centre, La Romaine. “In a small country, the State is especially important because it not only plays the role of referee, but it is the entity for pioneering economic effort.”  

Were it not for the State, he said, there would be no Point Lisas Industrial Estate or National Gas Company, nor would there be major initiatives and development in the country. “You could not build a cadre of competence in energy were it not for the State in collaboration with the private sector. “But the State cannot be the dominant economic player in the economy. It can be a pioneering economic player.” He said the real investment must come from the private sector.

“If you really want properity, you’ve got to unleash entrepreneurship. You’ve got to unleash business investment.” The SouthWest Peninsula Growth Pole is one of the five growth poles, said Bruce Mackenzie, a member of the ministry’s Economic Development Board. MacKenzie said the objective of the consultation was to initiate the development of an implementation plan for the peninsula, which runs from San Fernando to Icacos to Penal/Debe.

Gary Griffith’s claim that his new national security setup could put down an attempted coup within an hour came after he had given the media a tour of the new Emergency Dispatch Centre in St James—an exercise designed to show the investment in technology his ministry has made.

He also officially unveiled the Community Comfort Patrol pilot scheme involving trained officers from private security firms.

His comments came in the wake of 18 arrests at the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen’s Carapo mosque last week, inciting the Jamaat leader Yasin Abu Bakr to angrily announce in a radio interview that he would take “appropriate action” against Griffith, Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams and Inspector Roger Alexander, if such police activity continued. At the media exercise, at the St James Police Academy on Thursday, Griffith said gang-related activity in the “hotspots” of Laventille had reduced in the past few days, due to the activity of the T&T Defence Force and the T&T Police Service, but that the national security alert remained at the same level.

Earlier, Griffith had cut the ribbon of a high-tech, fully kitted-out emergency response call centre and explained the function of the red-shirted Community Comfort Patrol (CCP) officers which the leader of the opposition, Dr Keith Rowley, expressed mystification about at a PNM public meeting in St Augustine on Tuesday. Rowley had described seeing two officers assigned to that unit in an “unmarked” car on his road as he left his house and described them as “untrained, unknown people driving around in strange cars pretending to be police.”

He demanded that the government explain who they were, what they were authorised to do and how much the scheme was costing.

The Ministry of National Security responded by hastily calling the press conference two days later which answered Rowley’s questions. The CCP patrol officers are trained, Griffith said, but will have no powers of arrest and will not carry guns.

Their remit is to cruise areas which do not have their own privately funded Neighbourhood Watch schemes in discreetly marked pick-up trucks, acting as “extra eyes and ears” and as a form of deterrence. These private officers, he said, will inform the National Operations Centre or police officers when they observe crime taking place. The CCP patrol team will consist of employees from four private security firms—G4S, Amalgamated, Innovative and Protective Security Services—and the pilot scheme is costing the government $5.2m for an initial four month period.

Asked whether there was a tendering process, Keith Renaud, Director of the Office of Law Enforcement Policy, said the contracts were assigned by “selective tendering, as mandated by Cabinet.”

Two friends who were arrested last week in connection with the seizure almost 13 kilos of marijuana have been released on almost $1 million in bail.
 

Sefan Gangroo, of Bridge Road, San Juan and 20-year-old Rahim Joseph, of Mt Pleasant Road, Carenage, were each granted $400,000 bail when they appeared before Magistrate Gloria Jasmath in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrate Court last Friday. They were not called upon to plead to the charges, which were laid indictably.

Both men were arrested at a house in Carenage, last Tuesday, after Western Division police and detectives of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNFB) executed a search warrant at the property and found the illegal drugs which have a street value of more than $350,000.

After being interrogated by police both men were charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act for marijuana trafficking. They were also charged for ammunition possession  for the three rounds of .38 calibre bullets which were also allegedly found in the house. PC Hernandez laid the charges.

The 22 plastic packages of marijuana were brought to court and inspected by Jasmath. She then ordered that it be taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James for forensic testing. 

Gangroo was represented by Patrick Godson-Phillip, while Mansergh Griffith appeared for Joseph.

Both men will reappear in court on August 23.

I noted with interest the Prime Minister’s offer of 20 per cent discount on flour, rice and oil with the stated intention of “making it easier for people to afford healthier food for their families.” 

Healthier food? Polyunsaturated soybean oil? Wheat (flour) and white rice?

As science is increasingly showing, eating wheat increases the potential for a surprising number of health problems. Chief among them is the destruction of gut (bowel) flora. As Dr William Davis, author of Wheat Belly, says: After all, our unwitting bowels are the primary means through which we ingest this thing (wheat) that annoys, erodes, irritates and generally wreaks havoc on our health. The gastrointestinal tract, probably more than any other organ system, is the unhappy recipient of most of wheat’s destructive properties.

The problem is that modern wheat is nothing like the wheat from long ago. Those in the know refer to it as “frankenwheat.” So removing wheat, in all its forms, from your diet is one of the best things you can do for your health. We will talk about wheat another time but, today, I want to talk about oil, in particular, polyunsaturated oils like soybean, corn and canola.

Without getting too technical, polyunsaturated fats/oils are linked by two or more pairs of double bonds and, therefore, lack four or more hydrogen atoms. This structure is unstable and wreaks havoc on the cells in our bodies. It contributes to oxidation and free radical damage in the body. Free radical damage to the skin causes wrinkles and premature ageing. Free radical damage to the tissues and organs sets the stage for tumours. Free radical damage in the blood vessels initiates the buildup of plaque.

These oils cannot withstand exposure to heat when used for cooking, but they are still the main choice for restaurants and fast food joints because they are cheap and the claim “cooked in vegetable oil” sounds healthier to customers. The truth is that cooking with these oils turns them rancid, making them even more dangerous when consumed. So while the food you may order at a restaurant may, by itself, be healthy, it may be hazardous to your health depending on which oil was used in its preparation. It’s a good idea to ask the chef what oil they are using.

Excess consumption of polyunsaturated oils has been shown to contribute to a large number of disease conditions including increased cancer and heart disease; immune system dysfunction; damage to the liver, reproductive organs and lungs; digestive disorders; depressed learning ability; impaired growth; and weight gain. (I have all the academic references, including articles published in The Lancet, the world’s leading medical journal.)

So which oil should we use for cooking? There’s only one really healthy choice—the one our grandparents knew about—coconut oil. It is high in saturated fats, which are very stable. This is a benefit, not a problem as some may have been led to believe. The notion that saturated fats are bad for you has long since been discredited. That notion was put forward due to some pseudo-science initiated by Ancel Keys and was part of a campaign by the vegetable oil industry in the United States to convince people to stop using coconut oil.

It is now generally accepted that coconut oil is the healthiest oil on the planet. Many people I speak with say they know coconut oil is the best but it is too expensive. So if the government really wants to make it easier for people to afford healthier food, it should do whatever is necessary to make coconut oil as cheap as possible. Removing the 40 per cent duty would be a good start. The well-to-do can afford coconut oil, but by keeping the exorbitant duty, the government is denying the poor man access to one of the healthiest products he can have in his kitchen.

Noel Kalicharan,

via e-mail

I am a 30-something year-old single female professional seeking home ownership. My salary is over the level that the Housing Development Corporation considers being low-income. I have been searching tirelessly for over three years in the classified ads for a piece of land or a house that I can make my home. I have made contact with more than 30 people and visited over 20 properties during my search, to no avail.

This is what I have found to be the state of affairs of the real estate market in T&T: unapproved land is now being sold for anywhere within the price range $250,000 and $450,000 for a 5,000 sq ft plot, while Town and Country-approved land is being sold within the price range $500,000 to $650,000 for a 5,000 sq ft plot. 

A two-or three-bedroom home constructed on a 5,000 sq ft (or about) Town and Country approved plot sells for in excess of $1.1 million. My salary qualifies me for a maximum loan of $420,000 for land purchase and a mortgage of $850,000 for the purchase of a house and land that is approved by Town and Country.

Can you see my quandary? This current situation only affords me the opportunity to make my potential landlord rich. A comfortable rental unit for me is about $3,500. If I choose to rent an apartment and leave my childhood bedroom, that appears to be bursting at its seams, I may never be able to own a home. 

As I go further into the “thirty somethings” and the option of a 30 or 29 or 28, or 27-year mortgage passes, so do the odds of me (and many other young professionals) acquiring a home.
​

L Pierre
via e-mail

Friday will be August 1 and we will be observing—which is distinct from celebrating—Emancipation Day as a public holiday. Once again, as over the past years we will be hearing of something called the Emancipation Support Committee. Once again a particular bearded gentleman will be there to receive a few million dollars of taxpayers’ money for the observance. 

Does anybody know, or cares to know, who or what is the Emancipation Support Committee? Is it a legally and properly constituted body? Does it have a constitution? Is there an annual election of officers? What is the registered address? In normal circumstances it would be the duly-elected treasurer who will receive the cheque. Does this entity produce audited financial reports for the largess it receives? 

Each year something called an Emancipation Village is constructed. What is the cultural enrichment potential of this village? Is it of any value whatsoever? Who does what, and for how much, we would like to know. Is there a tender procedure to contract services? 

Another puzzling aspect of the Emancipation Day observance is that it is decidedly African in form and presentation. This is not what the name of the public holiday suggests. For Indian Arrival Day there is no question as to what the public holiday is all about. However, what of Emancipation Day? It is a day to observe the Emancipation of all those who arrived in T&T? To consider the day for Africans only is misleading. It is time to stop “Africanising” Emancipation Day. No one group can claim ownership of the day, or ownership of the taxpayers’ money given away for it. 

Meanwhile, the Africans who arrived in Trinidad, before the Indians, are awaiting an African Arrival Day public holiday. It can fit in the slot set aside for Boxing Day, if it is felt that we have too many public holidays already. 

Hilton Charles,

via e-mail 

It’s baffling to everyone (except the Prime Minister) as to why Anil Roberts has not being fired as yet. Although Minister Roberts is a braggart, it appears he is being accepted because he can dish out a good tongue-lashing on anyone who opposes the Government’s side. 

If the Prime Minister does not fire him, it may become norm for every other minister to act and behave like him. 

Anil Roberts is really a bold-face person for saying that he is not responsible for any wrongdoings. He was the minister in charge of the programme! Gangsters, crooks and criminals in high places benefited the most from Life Sport cash, not the “poor black kids” who Anil Roberts professes to love so much.

Mohammed Hosein,
via e-mail

Mr Roberts, the issue is not whether you did not sign a cheque, award a contract, do a tender, approve an employee or who practiced corruption in the past. The issue is that you presided over a disaster of a Life Sport programme for which you claimed ownership. 

Yes sir, the buck does stop with you. 

You have now become a major embarrassment to your party, your Prime Minister and indeed your country. Time to take a hike.

F Mouttet,
Westmoorings

“Seeking knowledge at [a] young age is like engraving on a stone” so said Hasan al-Basri, noted preacher, theologian and scholar of Islam. On this year’s Eid-ul-Fitr, children from several homes in south Trinidad celebrated with international education activist, Malala Yousafzai.  The event, which was hosted by The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) with kind part sponsorship from SM Jaleel and Company Limited (SMJ), welcomed children from the Lady Hochoy Centre (South), Operation Smile Children’s Home, Couva Children’s Home & Crisis Centre, Jai Lakshmi Children’s Home  and the El Shaddai Retsoration Home.
 
Ms. Lorna Ross, Chairperson of Lady Hochoy Centre (South), remarked that Malala’s mission “to educate all” was in fact similar to that of the Centre as the institution, which is now in its 45^th year, seeks to educate students in areas such as “religion, life-skills, sport, art and craft, music and functional academics” She remarked that it was a privilege for them to pay “tribute to Malala for [her] courage and persistence against odds that we can only imagine”.
 
Also addressing the capacity audience was Minister of State in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and Member for Oropouche West, the Honourable Stacy Roopnarine, who referenced Malala’s strength and courage and wished the young activist well in her mission of advocacy in spreading the message of education for all youth. A message, that is not lost on the people of Trinidad and Tobago even as the country enjoys universal access to education from primary to tertiary education.
Malala Yousafzai, the day’s Feature Speaker and guest of honour, commended the many youthful performers from the representative homes who shared in song. She wished Eid Mubarak to all and commented that, “even though many in the audience are not Muslims, it is a privilege to see brothers and citizens celebrating with each other”. Malala, who shared her story, remarked that she continued with the campaign to encourage education for all as she wanted children in her neighbourhood to have that opportunity. Malala continues to be impressed by accessibility to education in Trinidad and Tobago.  According to her, many nations can learn from Trinidad and Tobago and that [she] would tell other countries to make education free for every child as it is here [in Trinidad and Tobago].
 
Special presentations were made to Malala, including that of a portrait by Sirju Seeharack, a Florida-based Trinidadian. Seeharack has produced and presented portraits to President Obama, the family of Martin Luther King Jr., Prime Minister Kamla Persad Persad-Bissessar and many others.  Malala’s next appearances will be on Wednesday 30^th and Thursday 31^st July at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA).  These events which are by invitation only will be broadcast live on television and streamed on UTT’s website www.u.tt (to gain entry into the auditorium, invitations must be presented). 

It is never easy for Sherna Alexander to relate the story of her early childhood, growing up in a home where she was subjected to physical and sexual abuse for ten years. Now, at 40, her scars are not all healed, but she has made giant steps to recovery and her life is being restored through unconditional love and forgiveness. She was only six and a half when a man who was supposed to be one of her guardians raped her and forced her to repeatedly perform sexual acts. Alexander’s father, a nurse at the St Ann’s Hospital and a former officer in the T&T Defence Force, died in 1981, leaving her and her younger brother in the care of a relative and a male friend. 

Once the abuse began, Alexander said she endured it almost every day. She vividly remembers the first time she was raped. “He walked with some type of lubricant and told me it will hurt but this will make me feel better. “It was a pain I would never forget…excrutiating. I felt as though my stomach was being ripped apart and it was like I was suffocating with his weight on top of me. I still remember the smell of his breath and his heavy breathing. And him touching my face and licking my chest,” she said. In the following days she felt sick, could not walk properly, and bathing and urinating were, in her own words, “like hell.” But this did not stop the perpetrator. To intimidate her, he would often threaten to beat and kill Alexander. At other times he would say, “I care about you; I love you; I would be a father to you and support you; you are special to me.”

Despite his threats, Alexander still told a teacher at primary school, but nothing was done. And when she subsequently told her guardian—who also physically abused Alexander and her brother—her guardian’s response was: “Talk to Jesus and pray plenty.” As the physical abuse persisted, Alexander’s brother fled the house in St James. But too fearful of running away, she reluctantly stayed. Her role as a sex slave intensified as she grew older. Life for Alexander was constant torture. Many days she cried. She would daydream about dying or having a better life, like her classmates, who always looked so happy and seemed to have loving parents. “I thought something was wrong with me and I was the only child in the world experiencing this. I often wondered why God hated me. I slowly began to have a hatred for anything religious, especially since [her relative] was a Christian and the teacher who taught me religious instruction also molested the girls, touching me as well many times. I wondered how could a caring God allow this to happen.”

With no one coming to her rescue, Alexander tried to find ways to deter her abuser, including not bathing or brushing her teeth for lengthy periods. “I thought if I didn’t do these things and I smelled bad enough, he would leave me alone.” But instead her deliberate poor hygiene led to a severe case of oral thrush. “I remember my mouth being so sore and it was difficult to swallow. They took me to the family doctor and I remember trying to tell him what was happening to me…” The doctor responded by asking her guardians to send her over to his home three times a week, “just to relax and spend time with his family. I guess this was his way of helping,” Alexander said. But even a few hours away from home did not bring relief, as once she returned at nightfall, the torment continued. 

Unable to stomach any more, she attempted suicide. A cocktail of pills taken from the medicine chest and a cupful of mouthwash were going to be her ultimate escape. Her plan did not work. She was rushed to the same doctor, and this was followed by a sound beating with a fan belt by her guardian. “I felt like an experiment that each person had to use and take a piece of. I felt worthless, and  just wanted to die,” she said. While she was at secondary school Alexander began having sex with older men, while still being sexually abused at home. “I guess I was trying to be an adult, but also wanting to remain a child…not really knowing what a real childhood was or what adulthood should feel like. Part of me felt sex was the only option for helping with hurt and in having sex with other men there would be some type of healing or cleansing. But boy, was I wrong.”

She got pregnant five times and had five abortions. “My first abortion was at a backyard abortionist in Belmont…I remember the line of women waiting to have abortions was so long. I still deal with that horror today,” she said sorrowfully. With her life heading in a downward spiral, at 15 she packed some clothes and ran away in search of her mother. But she ended up back in St James, where she was beaten for lying. Her mother eventually took her in, only after receiving a scolding from Alexander’s half-sister, who was visiting from the USA. Looking back, she said her mother also displayed the classic traits of an abused person, but would never admit it. “When I fully understood what abuse was, I knew that my mother had to have also been a victim. Up to this day my mother cannot embrace me or say, ‘I love.’ As a matter of fact she cannot do it with any of her children.” Despite the turmoil Alexander excelled at school, gaining seven CXC passes. She opted to study law at A-level, with the intention of becoming a criminal lawyer to seek revenge on all child molesters, but changed her mind when she met psychologist Dr Ronald John, who would be instrumental in her healing process.

Not healed, but better
Some things, if not all, happen for a reason, Alexander believes. By 25, she accepted a marriage proposal from a man 20 years older. “I suppose I agreed to marry him as an easy way out,” she said. She remained married to her husband, a preacher, until he died last December, but  the marriage was a very rocky one. With all the debris of her past, it was difficult for her to love and often she would become angry and lash out. This led to many physical fights. “I would just become so enraged over the smallest issue. I remember one day he screamed at me, ‘Like I married the devil.’ That is when I broke down and cried out to God. I had felt so lost, useless and out of control for so long.”

The couple sought counselling. “During our counselling sessions, I found out my husband was also a product of abuse...I guess in many ways God used him to save me. “I eventually grew to love him, and being with him gave me the confidence to speak up about the past I so just wanted erased,” Alexander said. Moving forward has not been easy for Alexander. She believes abuse of any kind is difficult to completely overcome, and that healing comes by first forgiving oneself and the perpetrator and by helping others to heal. “Abuse is something you live with for life—even in doing this interview so many emotions arise. But there must be one person who is bold and brave enough to do it to help another,”  she said. “Am I completely healed? No way! But I can say with the grace of God, and the continuous love and support from good people, I am 95 per cent better.”

In today’s fast-paced workplace, new and seasoned employees are among those who turn to unhealthy and unacceptable coping mechanisms as they face fierce competition and an ever-changing environment. Real fears of losing their jobs, peer pressure, family problems, financial difficulties and an inability to respond to technological demands and job expectations cause such extreme pressures that substance abuse in the workplace has heightened dramatically.

Employers appear to be united in their perception as to what constitutes substance abuse and they agree that this behaviour is unacceptable and costly. Many employees need to recognise that it is in their best interest to support the company policies that have been put in place for prevention purposes. Hopefully, company policies have been put in place.  Whether an organisation is small or large, it will be beneficial to have clear guidelines or policies in place to handle substance abuse. Too many supervisors, especially newly-promoted professionals, feel awkward and fearful or are just not trained or equipped to handle employees who abuse alcohol or drugs and too often the problem is ignored until it escalates to the point where there is injury and/or job loss. It does not have to be this way.

Policies on how to deal with substance abuse in the workplace can prevent the destruction of the lives of colleagues who have become trapped so that they face disciplinary charges or dismissal. In order to help their peers, even fellow employees should equip themselves with the tools they need: familiarity with the substance abuse policies for their workplace, other relevant substance abuse information, and referral sources and skills that will enable them to identify and refer their peers who may need assistance. 

Training employees to recognise abuse: Employers can do their part through the provision of quality training programmes that teach employees how to recognise substance abuse. Employees should be equipped to intervene when there is substance abuse in the workplace. The US government recommends that companies should educate their employees because their well-being is threatened by co-workers who use drugs. All employees should be knowledgeable about the symptoms of substance abuse which is defined as “the long-term pathological use of alcohol or drugs, characterised by daily intoxication, inability to reduce consumption and impairment in social or occupational functioning; broadly, alcohol or drug addiction” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/substance abuse). 

The symptoms of substance abuse include: 
Increased absenteeism
A lack of punctuality 
Decreased productivity 
Unsatisfactory relationships with peers 
Marked changes in attitude and general behaviour 
Marked changes in appearance, body language 
Physical cues like very red eyes, dilated pupils, impaired 

An employee who continually forgets deadlines, makes poor decisions, becomes agitated often and easily will attract the attention of fellow employees. The observing employee needs to understand what to do once these observations are consistent. Through training, he or she can be informed about the importance of documenting these observations and about procedural guidelines which will not lead to workplace misunderstandings and/or misfortune. Instead of feeling a sense of betrayal, the observing employee will come to realise, through training that he or she is helping her fellow employee and keeping her job and her organisation secure. 

Employers can provide formal group training sessions for employees and supervisors who can also access individual consultations through employee assistance programmes that are available in many organisations where substance abuse policies exist. Top management can show their interest by attending these training seminars and by sending clear messages that the focus is on preventing not punishing. These messages can be shared through company newsletters, bulletin boards, initial job interviews, orientation and training sessions. This attitude can be overtly projected and can become part of the organisation’s culture which lets employees know that they are valued.
 
A great deal of work must be done to create a non-threatening environment for those who may not readily admit that they are in need of assistance and for those who may want to assist those employees who appear to be at risk for substance abuse. Confidentiality is key, along with the practice of mutual respect, if employees are to be encouraged to seek help for themselves or to intervene on behalf of their peers.  In addition to understanding the confidentiality issue, supervisors and employees have to be educated to understand that it takes a very good, caring employer or supervisor to recognise and want to help a troubled employee before it is too late. Continues next week...

Dr Starke is a lifestyle coach/counsellor and an OD (organisational development) consultant who provides workshops/seminars for employees and supervisors. Please contact her at thestarkereality@gmail.com or www.ctclifeskills.com.