In last week’s column, a network to implement an effective national STEM education programme was proposed. For education to be impactful to national development, it must be directed and its outcome must be more than certification. One way to achieve this is by integrating and embedding entrepreneurship into all programmes, from the primary through the secondary to the tertiary levels. 

At the university level, there are engineering labs and workshops (at least in the case of UWI and UTT) and hence students there would have the opportunity to develop their ideas and prototypes. In the secondary and primary levels no such facilities exist. Further it would be impractical, definitely in terms of cost, to try to institute such. But, both MIC and NESC do have centres located throughout the country.

These are quite well equipped and hence their facilities together with those at the universities can be made available, on a structured basis, to students and entrepreneurs.

In an effort to do exactly this, the Caribbean Invention and Innovation Center (CIIC) was launched at UTT a few years ago. Training was provided to nationals of T&T, Barbados, Jamaica, Suriname and the Dominican Republic. Great interest was generated and prototypes were built for entrepreneurs in those countries. Several entrepreneurs, in a variety of sectors, did approach the CIIC for support and technical help as such facilities previously did not exist.

The proposed Science City, at Couva, was also intended to provide such facilities as part of an effort to boost the development of entrepreneurship, particularly among the general citizenry. It was integral to Niherst’s attempt to provide entrepreneurial support to the public by intensifying its informal STEM programme and exposing students and others to new and emerging technologies in order to help catalyse economic diversification.

A culture of innovation and entrepreneurship must be deepened in the country if fundamental economic changes are to occur. Many believe that we are a creative people. But this creativity has not been translated into industrial innovations, products and services to significantly impact the economy. The main factor is that the innovation and entrepreneurial infrastructure is not well developed. This must be rectified.

Financial, technical and business support must be provided. In order to stimulate invention, innovation and entrepreneurship, competitions like Scientific Ingenuity (formerly the Prime Minister’s Awards for Innovation and Invention) and i2i were instituted. Many quite interesting and potential commercially viable products and ideas emerged from them and in fact some were patented and a few were being developed into commercial products.

Diversification is not an overnight process. It requires sustained effort, particularly when there is neither a strong culture of innovation nor the supporting infrastructure. At best, it is a slow incremental process and hence it is essential that a Science, Technology and Innovation policy framework be developed and implemented.

Emerging from that policy, a strategy for providing access to the technological facilities of educational and R&D institutions funded by the state must be addressed. This may include the “assigning” of schools to laboratories located in their locality. So for instance, students of schools in Arima may be granted access to the labs at UTT’s O’Meara Campus to develop entrepreneurial ideas under supervision of staff at the institution.

In the innovation chain, the critical analysis of ideas to filter out impractical and or unworkable ones, is the first step. The next would be the determination of proof of concept and then the development of a prototype. The universities and technical institutes can play a critical and invaluable role in this regard. 

Even if there is no venture capital available locally, an entrepreneur with a working prototype can seeking funding internationally. The provision of technological support is thus absolutely necessary.

Like the Prime Minister, I believe that Carnival should not be any government’s priority. Who want to play mas, let them play. Who want to fete, let them fete. Who want to organise shows and charge a fee, let them do so. But not at taxpayers’ expense. 

But can you imagine the uproar that would have erupted if, for instance, Mrs Persad-Bissessar had made that statement? All hell would have broken loose with comments like “dem Indian doh like Carnival” and “she trying to mash up we culture.” But, now, not a peep from anyone except a few who see no real value in Carnival and support the call.

And what about the labour minister calling on unions to “relax” their demands, to be “reasonable”? Again, not a squawk from Roget and company whereas they would be organising marches all over the country had the advice been given by the PP government.

I’m not a fan of the PNM but I appreciate that they can make demands and do things that an “indian” government would not have dared to do, without any backlash from the PNM-friendly media. Thank God for that.

A Charles,
Mount Hope

Permit me the opportunity to highlight a few facts with respect to the new property tax which will be imposed in the not too distant future. Firstly and most importantly, salaries have not kept pace with the appreciation of properties in T&T. Therefore a house built ten years ago, at its present value, cannot be built today with the owner’s present salary. It’s just nigh impossible to build your own home at the present market rates. 

To tax a home owner based on current value with a lagging salary is just shy of criminal. 

Secondly, in my humble view, residential properties, used only for shelter and not profit, should carry a flat minimal rate of tax across the country. It is no fault of the home owner that land prices escalated, skilled workers became scarce with the advent of Cepep, causing a spike in the cost of labour and building materials skyrocketed. All these factors easily make a modest three bedroom flat into a million-dollar property, perhaps more. I must add that commercial properties should pay property tax as suggested. I therefore propose the following:

1. All residential structures, used strictly for shelter and not being rented out, should attract a flat rate of tax across the country.
2. Home owners who rent out their properties must acquire a license and be registered with a number. Failure to comply would carry heavy fines similar to driving under the influence.
3. Tenants must be given a receipt which can be used to claim up to 10 per cent of annual rent when filling out income tax; receipt must reflect registered number of home owner.
4. Legislation should be passed to include heavy fines for home owners who attempt to rent out their homes without a license and registration.
5. Random visits by Tax Wardens with powers to issue warnings and fines would ensure compliance.

With these proposed measures I can assure you that “a man’s home will remain his castle,” and citizens would not feel that they are being penalised for sacrificing to acquire their own homes through hard work, saving and doing without.

Andy Jangeesingh

jelani.beckles@guardian.co.tt 

President of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) Brian Lewis was not in a race against the clock at the T&T International Marathon on Sunday, but wanted to raise awareness and funding for the T&T Olympic athletes.

Lewis and the TTOC created the Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund last year, a fund created to support T&T’s athletes. The fund is expected to provide health and financial support for Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth athletes. Dressed in national colours, Lewis and a number of sport officials, soca artistes and judiciary members walked and ran the marathon in an effort to continue building Olympic interest among the local community. The ultimate goal of the TTOC is to win ten or more Olympic gold medals by the 2024 Olympic Games.  

Among those who walked alongside Lewis were T&T Pro League CEO Dexter Skeene and sport journalist/radio show host Andre Errol Baptiste. Others showed their support by participating in the Marathon Relay. Participating in the Marathon Relay were a team of entertainers led by soca artiste Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez, while Chief Justice Ivor Archie and his family also competed.

After the race, an exhausted Lewis thanked everyone for the support. Lewis said, “It was nice to have the Chief Justice and his family pulling for the TTOC ten or more Olympic medals by 2024 and Fay Ann Lyons. We had a lot of encouragement out on the road. I knew that there are a lot of expectations for me to finish.”

Lewis, who credited his medical team for helping him prepare for the race, said the journey was difficult but he kept the athletes in mind. “There was a point in the race I was struggling and I questioned myself why I was doing this. At that point I was frustrated, I thought is this worth it. But I remembered the athletes and this is to raise awareness and funding.”

Chief Justice Archie, who completed the last of four legs with his family said T&T must support the nation’s athletes. Archie said, “I got involved because I really think it is important to support our athletes. We can’t all be Olympic athletes but we can all emulate the dedication, the commitment and discipline that is involved in competing at that level.” Archie said athletes need moral and tangible support and hopes the rest of T&T will support tangibly to the cause. “The investment in sport is a way of getting rid of crime.”

Archie said he ran and walked from San Juan to the end of the race at White Hall around the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain. 

The T&T Red Force would hope that their below par performance against Barbados Pride on Sunday night at the Queen’s Park Oval does not affect morale when they meet Guyana in the first semi-finals of the Nagico Super50 tournament at the Queen’s Park Oval tomorrow.

T&T Red Force finished atop of the standings in Group A and will meet Guyana who finished second in Group B which was held in St. Kitts. Batting first T&T made 226 all out in 50 overs with the returning Darren Bravo stroking 82 and Denesh Ramdin 57. Barbados captain Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers with 4/35. 

Barbados in reply got home at 227/7 in 48 overs, as Shane Dowrich with an unbeaten 29 took them from 199/9 to their eventual winning target. Kraigg Brathwaite top scored with 48, while Jonathan Carter made 31 and Holder 26.

The  best of the Red Force bowlers was Rayad Emrit who grabbed 3/45 off nine overs. Bravo speaking after the game said the bowling was off on the night and this is what led to the defeat. “It was a difficult wicket to bat on but I don’t think that we batted badly on the track. I tried to bat through the innings but it did not work out.

When I got out I thought that it was a crucial point and probably if I was around until the end, another 20 to 30 runs would have made a difference. The total was decent one, the problem was that the bowling was not up to mark. Hopefully we can bounce back from this in the semi-finals.”

The T&T Red Force will train at the Queen’s Park Oval this morning from 9am. The Guyanese on the other hand will train at the National Cricket in Couva from 1.30pm.

STANDINGS:

GROUP A
Team    P    W    L    N/R    Pts    NRR
T&T Red Force (Q)    6    4    1    1     22    1.492
Barbados Pride (Q)    6    4    2    0    18    0.224
Jamaica Scorpions    6    3    3    0    14    0.186
ICC Americas    6    0    5    1        -2.110 
GROUP B
W’ward Volcanoes (Q)    6    4    1    1    18    -0.351
Guyana Jaguars (Q)    6    4    2    0    18    0.516
CCC Marooners    6    1    3    2    9    0.135
Leeward Isl Hurricanes    6    1    4    1    6    -0.341

MELBOURNE—Mercurial Chris Gayle equalled the fastest ever half-century in Twenty20s with an extraordinary knock, as he brought the curtain down on his controversial—and perhaps final—campaign in the Australia Big Bash here yesterday.

With Melbourne Renegades needing to overhaul Adelaide Strikers’ 170 in order to have a chance at a semi-final spot, opener Gayle blasted a top score of 56 off 17 deliveries but wickets fell steadily around him and the hosts came up short at 143 all out in the 16th over to lose by 27 runs.

Gayle, who will perhaps best be remembered in this tournament for his controversial ‘don’t blush baby’ remarks to Channel TEN reporter Mel McLaughlin a fortnight ago, set the stage for the run chase by racing to his fifty in record pace.

He smashed two fours and seven sixes en route as he equalled the previous record set by Indian left-hander Yuvraj Singh set nine years ago against England in Durban, during the Twenty20 World Cup.

Gayle plundered 26 runs from the first over of the innings sent down by 21-year-old rookie seamer Greg West which cost 27 runs.

After starting with a wide, West watched as Gayle collected a couple to mid-wicket. The left-handed Jamaican blocked the second delivery but then burst to life, clearing the ropes with the remaining four deliveries of the over.

The first six was a savage pull over mid-wicket, the second was an even bigger hit into the same area while the third sailed over backward square leg. Gayle ended the over by depositing a full toss over long on.

In the third over from seamer Ben Laughlin, Gayle belted sixes over long off and then over mid-wicket to move into the 40s, before punching the right-armer to the long-off boundary. Off the first ball of the next over, he drew level with Yuvraj when he cleared the ropes at long on with off-spinner Travis Head.

Disappointingly, Gayle fell in Head’s next over, the sixth of the innings, top-edging a catch behind—the last of the bowler’s first three wickets. The half-century was Gayle’s first in eight innings in the Big Bash this season.

Despite his fireworks, Renegades capitulated with opener Tom Cooper and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo suffering the indignity of first-ball ‘ducks’ and captain Cameron White managing just six. Earlier, Tim Ludeman hit 49 and Jono Dean, 48, in an opening stand of 85 off 64 deliveries, which gave Strikers a flying start.

At the end, captain Brad Hodge stroked a cameo, unbeaten 37 off just 21 deliveries in a 55-run, fifth wicket stand off 31 balls with Jake Lehmann (24). Bravo claimed one for 36 from his four overs of medium pace. Renegades’ defeat ensured that Andre Russell’s Sydney Thunder booked their first spot in the BBL semi-finals.

KINGSTON—Leading regional academic Sir Hilary Beckles has thrown his support behind embattled West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and has encouraged the Caribbean to do the same. 

Gayle has found himself embroiled in a sexism row following a controversial interview with Australian reporter Mel McLaughlin, during a game in the Big Bash League recently. Sir Hilary, the Vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, said he believed Gayle had made a genuine mistake and should be forgiven.

“I take his words for what he said, that he meant no offence. I take his word for that. I think he has given his apology,” Sir Hilary told the Gleaner newspaper here.

“We have to give him the support that he needs. Lots of sportsmen and women from time to time might not say the diplomatically pleasing thing, but in most cases, the environment of sport, comments are sometimes taken in the wrong way, and I just want to see Chris dust off all of this.”

Sir Hilary, a former West Indies Cricket Board director, said it was important that Gayle rebounded from the controversy as there was still an important role for him to play in West Indies cricket.

“This event has humbled Chris, and I want to big him up to get back,” Sir Hilary pointed out.

“I have known him for many years, and I wish him all the best, and I say to him, ‘come back and fulfill your destiny, and your destiny is in the heart of West Indies cricket’.”

The 36-year-old Gayle courted controversy when he appeared to openly flirt with McLaughin by telling her during a live TV interview: “I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well, that’s the reason why I’m here. Just to see your eyes for the first time. It’s nice.”

He continued: “So hopefully we can win this game and we can have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby.”

Gayle was subsequently censured by Cricket Australia and Big Bash League organisers, and also fined $10,000 (US$7,000). Sir Hilary, who has in the past attracted criticism by his characterisation of Gayle as a ‘don’, said mistakes were common in all walks of life.

“All of us who are educators – and I am first and foremost an educator – I have seen how all of us can sometimes make statements that are not ideal under the circumstances,” Sir Hilary contended.

“But he is a cricketer, and he is a sportsman; and like every sportsman, you make mistakes on the field and off the field.

“When you make mistakes on the field, you go to your coach and you correct them. When you make mistakes off the field, you go to your support team and you correct them.

“And when you correct them, you come out and demonstrate that you are much better and much bigger.” 

CMC

HENRY, ALEXANDRINE better known as Baby departed this life on 14th January, 2016. Mother of Vernon and Rodney. Sister of Eulah (Dec) and Molly. Grandmother of Brent Small. Great-Grandmother of Jahdell Small. Aunt of Mark, Cheryl, Curtis, Robert, David, Donna and Lester. Cousin of Trevor Ali, Barbara Ali and many others. Friend of Janet, Irma, Pearl, Ferdi Ferreira, Ian Walker, the Woolfords and many others.

Funeral service will take place at the Clark and Battoo s Chapel, located on #11 Tragarete Road, Port of Spain at 10:00 am on Thursday 21st January, 2016 followed by the Cremation at 12:00 noon at the Crematorium at Long Circular Road, St James. To send condolences visit www.clarkandbattoo.com. For enquiries, call C&B 625-1170  

COPELAND NOEL Stephen departed this life on Tuesday 5th January 2016. He was the son of Henry(deceased) and Merle Copeland. Brother of Monica Joseph; Annette Boodramsingh; Wayne Copeland; Leon Copeland; Clint Copeland and Stephen Copeland. Brother-in-law of Kenneth Joseph; Anthony Boodramsingh; Jackie Copeland; Martha Copeland; Susan Copeland and Kelva Copeland. Uncle of fourteen (14). Cousins to the Copelands; Harpers; Lewis's Haille's and Adrian Marshall. Friends of many and loved by All.

Memorial service will be held on Thursday 21st January 2016 at the St. Charles R.C Church, Eastern Main Raod, Tunapuna at 10:00a.m  

RAMOUTAR, VILMA Vanessa died on Sunday 17th January, 2016. Widow of Ramaward. Mother of Vishnu, Vidyha, Cintra, Sita, Marla, Indra, Harry, Krishna, Indar and the late Rampartap, Vilma and Roopnarine. Grandmother of Twenty-Three (23). Great Grandmother of many.

Funeral service at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday 21st January, 2016 at Grace Chapel, Corner Patna and Long Circular Road, St. James, followed by a Cremation at 10:00 a.m.. For enquiries; call C&B: 625-1170. To Send Condolences please visit www.clarkandbattoo.- com  

bpTT plans to drill an exploration well in 2016. Vice president Corporate Operations Giselle Thompson said the Savannah exploration well will be drilled close to the Juniper field off Trinidad’s southeast coast. It was one of the activities outlined by the energy company at the T&T Energy Conference on yesterday. 

The company’s activities are focused on maximising production from existing fields, drilling new wells from existing platforms and new projects.

“Despite the current dark clouds over the industry we understand the cyclical nature of the global energy sector. We remain confident that there still remains much untapped potential in the Columbus Basin,” Thompson said. 

“We have a very ambitious activity set to deliver in 2016 and beyond. Thus, we are committed to continuing to invest and to develop the acreage once the local investment climate continues to support further investments in the upstream.”

One of the highlights of the company’s operations in 2015 was high plant reliability of 98 per cent and improved system optimisation. 

Last year bpTT had the lowest number of unplanned production shut downs (PSDs) since 2008, which is a direct result of its maintenance and integrity management programmes over the past few years. In fact the T&T operations had one of the highest plant reliability records across all BP operating sites. This year bpTT will continue with its multi-rig programme which will include working on existing wells to increase production and drilling new wells from existing platforms.

BpTT is also looking specifically at small pools or those reservoirs less than 1 trillion cubic feet. 

“Resources that sit in small pools are very strategic to bpTT’s future and to maintaining our existing production profile. There is a significant quantity of small pool opportunities in the existing fields and also within future new field developments,” Thompson said.

In terms of upcoming projects, Juniper is progressing towards its start up in late 2017, with fabrication of the platform and drilling of wells. 

By the end of 2016 all five of Juniper’s wells will be completed. Preliminary work has begun on the next proposed project: Angelin which is currently progressing through BP’s project approval process. The Angelin project was accelerated due to enhanced imaging brought by the Ocean Bottom Cable (OBC) seismic. The OBC data has allowed a better understanding of the subsurface.

“Despite the challenges of today we believe there remains a lot to be optimistic about. Our philosophy is to leave no molecule behind and therefore we continue to work on activities designed to discover more and recover more resources,” Thompson said.

BpTT operates in 904,000 acres off Trinidad’s east coast and has 13 offshore platforms and two onshore processing facilities.

According to Rudolph Mannie, the manager of the National Energy Skills Centre’s My Part programme, there is a need for growth and support for the programme, designed as a key intervention in the rehabilitation for young offenders.

Given T&T’s problem not just with crime, but with alarming rates of recidivism, it seems clear that the programme, with a waiting list of 300 teenagers, some of whom have been recommended by the courts and the Inter Agency Task Force, is in need of more development attention.

Mr Mannie warned that “One of the side effects of an economic downturn is school dropouts because of parents losing their jobs and people turning to drugs to make money.”

As it is currently organised, the My Part programme is limited to 72 cadets per year and is currently working with 60 cadets, 80 per cent of whom are from the East-West Corridor, while 92 per cent of the 60 are from single parent households.

It’s alarming to realise that Trinidad and Tobago, which has for more than a decade suffered from a steady rise in violent crime largely attributed to young men, is still to fully embrace the value of an emphasis on rehabilitation.

Efforts at relieving the pressure on the courts by dealing with crimes involving personal drug use and the possession of small quantities of marijuana are still to reach critical mass.

An in-prison drug rehabilitiation and treatment programme was suspended in August, 2013 and the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago work on creating a drug court remains very much a pilot project.

At that time of its closure, the prison based drug rehab programme had driven the rate of recidivism down from an average of 60 to 80 per cent down to 30 per cent.

The Judiciary launched the Drug Treatment Court in 2012 and by June 2015 had graduated 12 people. Chief Justice Ivor Archie has long advocated a significant change in the approach to handling minor drug use and juveniles in the court system and has publicly advocated both a Caribbean Drug Treatment Court Association and a juvenile court.

The Chief Justice advocated for young offenders in October 2013, calling for a youth court that would “ensure their effective rehabilitation and reintegration as reformed members of the society.”

The promise of a Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Act announced by the Ministry of the People and Social Development in 2011 went nowhere.

Vision on Mission, the halfway house and prisoner rehabilitation facility established by Wayne Chance as a space for recently freed prisoners experiences chronic shortfalls in funding,

In October 2015, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons Gerard Wilson announced that the T&T Prison Service was moving to implement the first step in a proper programme of resorative justice, the introduction of victim-offender dialogue.

It’s been clear for some time that the growth of a parallel economy fuelled by crime has proven attractive to young people who feel they have no other options.

Along with more focused and effective social interventions targeting youth who might be tempted by a criminal’s life there is a need for more programmes that address young people who have learned after a run-in with the law, that the fast life can be a hard life.

For these first time offenders, the disturbingly underfunded My Part is a chance to start again that will remain out of reach for too many. 

The Government must commit to ensuring that there are more choices available to a justice system that must have the option of established systems of rehabilitation and reintegration created to reduce the repeat offender syndrome.

Last weekend, I was able to go to the Revue and Kaiso House tents which visits were revealing and entertaining. (Reviews will be published in these pages.) Predictably in this first post-election Carnival, there was a good deal of PNM prating (the Prime Minister was at the Revue on Saturday), but a few other significant things were in evidence.

In the last decade, calypsonians and calypso have retained much of their signature aggressive, ethnocentric postures, but there have been changes; like a slow attenuation of the racial sentiment—which means it’s declining, not gone. But you probably won’t hear a song like Cro Cro’s Face Reality or Singing Sandra’s Genocide again. Probably.

But as that prejudice fades, the political-ethnic link has strengthened. From the number of songs aimed at the Opposition (a little less than half) it’s clear calypso tents are PNM media, as has been evident over the last decade. Even a casual listener would hear the calypsonians’ minds are firmly embedded in the black, urban worldview, and they consider this normal and natural.

While this isn’t exactly a secret, to notice it critically is not “racist.” Think of Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s boycotting the Oscars because no black actors were nominated in key categories. Similarly, many Trinidadians could legitimately complain the tents are not really “national,” but ethnic enclaves. That aside, my own concern is that there seems to be a renewal of, and new confidence in the ethnic-political link—black now seems to belong to PNM.

It’s not subtle; the tents’ main topic is the previous government’s corrupt ways, but also the expectation that the present one would save “us,” the nation. While I’m in agreement with the first proposition (the PP really had to go), I find the second proposition jokey. We traded worse for bad, no more.

AfroTrinidad has been the PNM’s traditional base, but its rededication in 2015 isn’t comforting. It reveals subtler forces at work, affecting the nation’s memory, history, and forgetting. (This is the title of a book by Paul Ricoeur, and a large body of literature on the subject exists.) Societies create social, collective and historical memories through the stories they tell and propagate. The memories are not always factual, but comprised of selected facts, and much fabrication.

What I heard in the tents was a version of history which openly threw around words like history, destiny, and divine right to describe the PNM’s holding office. The fact that 20 singers in two tents had almost identical opinions is not coincidence. These stories originate from the PNM’s bowels, and are disseminated these days mainly through talk radio and reinforced through the more intimate contact of the tents.

What it also means is that there’s no shared national narrative, no origin story we all agree upon, and the basis of the schism remains ethnic. Many calypsonians’ views of racism (from their songs) agree that it’s perpetrated by others on African people. Naturally, “other” people have other ideas they feel strongly about. And here’s the problem: Carnival is by far the most powerful, pervasive medium of social and state communication in the country. Its content is, in many ways, state orthodoxy which no one questions and indeed, many seek to celebrate and propagate.

This is a major reason the country will not settle into a peaceable configuration. There is a sizable segment of the population (much more than half, and not just Indians) who have their own memories and stories, and find the Carnivalist proposition absurd. Many people undermine it in various ways—from not paying taxes, to low productivity, poor work ethic, apathy, hostility in everyday affairs, to schizoid ethical systems (professing morality, behaving otherwise). Not everyone feels and acts this way, but a large enough number does to affect the society.

But there is a cogent counter to these sentiments—one more thing to blame the PP for. The PP in five years tripled the Carnival budget, from about $100 to $300 million. It did not propose meaningful alternatives to prevailing conceptions of culture and nation, instead throwing money at Carnival and Cepep to distract (it hoped) while it fixed itself, its friends, girlfriends and family.

The PP also managed to drive a wrecking ball through the already existing creative industries in its attempt to set up oversight committees comprised of cronies and toadies. Because of the sheer volume of money in the economy for the last decade, a few important cultural institutions did appear (like the T&T Film Festival and Bocas Lit Fest), but it’s a small fraction of what could have been done.

So where does that leave us in 2015? The PNM train, to paraphrase the philosopher Skatie, is back on track. Carnival is its thing, and, it is not going to change it, or contemplate any alternative cultural institutions.

This is a shame, since another thing that hasn’t changed over the years is calypso’s limitations. Its locus of ideas is small, its vocabulary smaller, and its attitude is hostile. I listened in despair to Valentino try to capture “the world” in song, and fail. I winced when the normally sublime Mudada sang about Chinese people and dog-meat. Listening to Sharlan Bailey sing a tribute to his father, Winston, I found myself wondering why the hell Shadow had stopped producing music. As if to underline, the DJ played Dingolay in the intermission, which is as close to calypso genius as anyone listening now is going to hear.

So sad. If anyone wants to do anything for calypso, they could start there: get Shadow back to work.

Ryan Hadeed

So 2016 finds us wondering how we doing?

Will this year bring us one step closer to ruin?

The price of oil may continue to fall.

Meaning many of us will only continue to bawl.

So why aren’t there more of us filled with fear.

Oh yes that’s right, Trinis really don’t care.

Of course we’re all concerned about the crime.

But more concerned are we about where’s the lime.

Whatever the news, it’s just more of the same.

Better to ignore it all than feel the pain.

When people complain about how prices so dear.

They really studying how dey playin’ Carnival this year.

They’ll always find a way to pay for costume and fete.

Even if they have to borrow, take a loan, or place a bet.

Soon de party will end after we’ve spent a tidy sum.

And the bills, at month’s end, will still come.

For the folks at the top, whose salaries nice and fat.

How to make ends meet, they not worrying about dat.

Whether PNM or UNC, all politicians cause me to lament.

I mean, just look at the characters sitting in Parliament.

Their shameful behaviour is all that we witness.

Talking plenty of picong, instead of national business.

Ultimately they fixin’ up anyone they call a friend.

With a house or a contract with no real end.

You see it isn’t about the duty of their post.

The name of the game is who can steal the most.

Keith tellin’ us tighten and yet he flyin’ all about.

Like if it wasn’t already hard to put food in we mouth.

And after wasting her chance, Kamla now has plenty to say.

The mismanagement was hers, but we have to pay.

So go ahead brothers and sisters, support your party.

After all they both take turns at running this country.

I am neither the voice in the wilderness nor the midnight robber.

But this sad state of affairs provides lyrical fodder.

You see we all love to rant on Facebook and Whatsapp.

Yet between sympathy and action there seems to be a gap.

There are problems galore, and we all make a fuss.

It’s only lip service until it happens to us.

In the past I did more than sit idly by and moan.

Eventually I grew tired of seeing how corruption has grown.

The Treasury empty, wasted on some mega project.

Now is tax in we backside, and pardner they coming to collect.

Times are hard and we’ll just have to do without.

Things could only get worse, is there any doubt?

The fault is our own, in reality we lost touch.

A shame considering we are blessed with so much.

It’s because “God is a Trini,” we all like to think so.

But I think even He left this place a long time ago.

With our energy prices now dipping well below the budgeted prices, it is no secret that our energy-based economy is in for challenging days ahead. It is in my interest, as well as the interest of all segments of the population, that our government of the day would seize control of the situation very soon. I am no economist, but would like to offer some simple advice to our government, as well as best wishes in dealing with the challenges ahead. 

Our country more than ever needs investment to drive our economy. If I were an investor I will be looking for a stable economy with a positive outlook and a clear sense of direction. I would want to see that those who are in charge of these directions seem to know and have confidence in what they are doing. 

I therefore would like to suggest to our current political directorate, that the time has come to put aside the blame for the presumed ills done in times of economic fortune, and get down to the task at hand. We appreciate the attempt to be honest with the nation on our economic status but the public lamentations, shedding of tears and non-enunciation of a clear direction will not increase investor confidence in our economy. 

To my government, the majority of the voting population had confidence that you will do the best job amongst all alternatives in the last election. And we all look forward to you all succeeding in the task at hand. 

To the opposition, I urge you all to not let your voices go silent at this time. In tough times, it is easy to justify harsh decisions that will affect the most vulnerable in the name of the greater good. I look forward to you all being that voice, working for the welfare of all. 

I look forward to constructive ideas and partnership from both sides to solve the problems. Blame is easy to dish out, but it will not reverse the trends in global energy prices or feed the hungry. Good luck to you all.

Vedavid Manick, 

Sangre Grande. 

The Health Minister, Terrence Deyalsingh, thundered, “We are going to wage an intellectual war on salt, sugar, fats...” While this is a laudable sentiment, it should be taken, well, with a grain of salt, preferably Himalayan rock salt. 

According to my favourite doctor and my own research, sugar (white or brown) is the devil and should be avoided at all costs. 

A good starting point is to watch the University of California’s “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” on YouTube. But be careful. The only thing worse than sugar is an artificial sweetener (aspartame, sucralose, chemicals). If you must satisfy your sweet tooth, use natural foods like honey, maple syrup, stevia, agave, dates and local fruits. 

When the minister refers to “salt” I assume he means the common refined white table salt. This salt is certainly unhealthy since its structure is radically altered during the refining process and man-made chemicals are added. But the pink Himalayan rock salt, among other natural salts, is a healthy salt. It may seem like a paradox but this salt can actually lower high blood pressure by treating its causes, unlike conventional medications. 

Today, however, I want to talk about fats and clarify some entrenched misconceptions. Firstly, all fats are not the same—some are healthy, some are not. The real problem is that we’ve been brainwashed into believing that the unhealthy fats are healthy and vice versa. So we must be careful that we don’t direct our war on the good fats. 

The notion that saturated fats are bad for you and polyunsaturated fats (PUFs) are good was discredited over 50 years ago. Yet the fallacy lives on in the minds of many, fuelled by huge advertising budgets of companies whose only target is our money, with little concern for our health. 

This may surprise you but quite the opposite is true: saturated fats (the kind you get from butter, cheese, eggs, meat and coconut oil) are good and polyunsaturated fats (from margarine and vegetable oils such as corn oil, canola oil and safflower seed oil) are bad. Monounsaturated fats, found in large amounts in olive oil, palm oil and lard, tend to be more neutral. 

Since the early days of kidney transplants, it was known that PUFs suppress the immune system and were therefore used to try and prevent the body from destroying the transplanted kidney. However, the doctors were alarmed at the frequency with which their patients developed cancers.

It is now well-established that PUFs are a cancer risk. For instance, an article in the Medical Journal of Australia (1974) blamed the increased consumption of polyunsaturated fats for the alarming increase in malignant melanoma (skin cancer) in Australia. 

In 1991, two studies, from the USA and Canada, found that linoleic acid, the major polyunsaturated fatty acid found in vegetable oils, increased the risk of breast tumours. Many other studies have confirmed similar results. 

In addition, when PUFs are absorbed into the cell membranes, it results in reduced structural integrity, instability and “limpness.” When this happens, our good friend cholesterol, the body’s repair substance, is sequestered from the blood to restore “stiffness” to the membranes. So you will hear the claim that PUFs reduce serum cholesterol but you won’t be told the full story. 

Yes, folks, despite being demonised by the pharmaceutical industry to sell their liver-damaging, cancer-causing statin drugs, cholesterol is essential to all animal life. 

Among many other uses, it is an important component for the manufacture of bile acids, steroid hormones, and fat-soluble vitamins including Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. And, fact, there is no correlation between your cholesterol level and your risk of heart disease. People with low levels get heart attacks at the same rate as those with high, or any other, levels. 

On the other hand, saturated fats have a wide range of health benefits. Among these are reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, stronger bones, improved liver health, healthy lungs, healthy brain, proper nerve signalling and stronger immune system. For more details, I urge you to read the fully-referenced, seminal article, The Truth About Saturated Fats, by Dr Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. 

So, Mr Minister, wage your war on fats but please target the right enemy. For starters, you could target the big fast food chains who, I suspect, all use polyunsaturated oils to fry their chicken and other foods. You would do our citizens (and aliens) a huge favour if you mandate that coconut oil be used by anyone frying food for sale to the public. If you do, then I would be assured that you are serious about improving our nation’s health.

Noel Kalicharan