Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival, and lifestyle

Hans Des Vignes Facebook Tape

2011-10-12T19:40:00.003-04:00

Jack Warner Caught On Tape At the Hyatt

2011-10-12T01:42:00.002-04:00

This bugger

Is Destra Gay?

2011-06-01T09:22:00.002-04:00

The famous picture of Destra french kissing another girl.
She has since denied it on Trinidad radio.

Cayman Islands Girl On Basketball Wives

2010-04-14T21:48:00.003-04:00

Apparently the hit show on VH1, Basketball Wives, features the Cayman Islands' own Erikka Moxam.

Why Manning Called The Elections

2010-04-09T08:45:00.004-04:00

As of midnight on Thursday, April 8, President Max Richards - in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister - dissolved Parliament; opening the way forward for General Elections.
The difference in reaction between opposition and ruling Party supporters was startling, but all wanted to know Why?

Why now? Why would the Prime Minister risk losing Government with not even 3 years of his five-year term behind him?
Why? Why when the country can still call on record revenue and a commanding majority in Parliament?

The analysts are pinning it on the no-confidence motion; or Calder Hart. But as Chris Rock asked when speaking on the Columbine shootings, "Whatever happened to crazy?"
It's quite possible Manning is just a nut. A lunatic.

But, though it may be crazy, perhaps there is method in it. Consider this...

Suppose you're Manning and you have the preliminary findings of the Lindquist investigation into Calder Hart and UDECOTT. It looks bad; and Mr. Manning knows charges are certain to be laid and he has been fingered as Mr Hart's benefactor.

At that point it suddenly hits the Prime Minister; the PNM will lose the Elections if they wait five years, and worse yet, in a few months time, there is a definite concern that his own Party will finally realise what all have said, that he, Mr. Manning, is the millstone 'round the PNM's neck.

He thinks farther ahead, what would happen if his Party turns against him? Well they'd see new leadership, wouldn't they. The weak, even acting bravely, needs leadership.
Who would they turn to, he ponders? Dr. Keith Rowley!

Now if you were Prime Minister Manning you'd know that is your worst case scenario. So how do you stop that? You call a General Election!

It's a win-win scenario for Manning. Because either way, he terminates Dr. Rowley's political career.
He can either reject Dr. Rowley as a candidate, or approve him and force Dr. Rowley to defend, on the hustings, the very leader he has battled against in the Parliament.

If by some miracle the PNM wins, then Manning would have a clean slate with a dirty plate.
If the PNM lose the Election, Manning still wins, because Rowley now has to stew as an Opposition MP with little hope of ever becoming Prime Minister.

Even if the PNM then name Rowley as Opposition leader, Manning would have achieved what he wanted.

And that's why the Prime Minister called the General Elections. It's all about staving off the inevitable. Manning may yet move from crazy to evil genius.

Mariano Browne Should Take Over CL Financial Group

2010-04-01T14:03:00.004-04:00

Now that the Trinidad & Tobago's new blue eyed boy, Marlon Holder has taken up the CEO and Managing Director positions of the beleaguered CL Financial Group, the next question is when will he resign.

The fact is Holder is incapable of steering the Group into passive waters. He has neither the ability or the experience.
The only person worth considering for the post is the Minister of Trade, Mariano Browne.
Browne has the charisma, clout, confidence and competence to do the job successfully and in the shortest period of time.

Clico is burning. The company has a fifteen billion dollar debt concern with a long-list of fully leveraged assets. Decisions must be taken and large amounts of cash must be injected.

The first decision to be taken is to renege on the political promise to pay interest and principal to it's Clico Investment Bank clientele. Those customers should have been promised their prinicpal and nothing more.
Indeed, they are lucky to receive that at all.

Secondly, no bonuses should be honoured and all bonuses paid in excess of one million over the last five years should be investigated.
And investigations should begin with Geeta Sakal.

Thirdly, all unethical payments made as a result of employee deals between CL and those employees private concerns should be investigated. We know of too many instances where CL's employees seem to have been a stable of private interests leeching off of the most dotish billionaire on the planet.

In short, the country's tax payers need their pounds of flesh for the billions they are being asked to contribute to local investors (who knew the interest paid to them was too good to be true) and regional/international investors whose agreements we have to honour.

This country demands investigations beginning with Duprey and Monteil.
Enough is enough.

Beyonce Rides Palance Rhythm At B-Mobile Concert

2010-02-20T02:20:00.005-04:00

Beyonce and her dancers destroyed the Savannah on the 'new' Carnival Thursday.

Pity B-mobile had to mess it up with third-class facilities, cheap-ass food, and low class liquor.
Buh wha yuh go do? We like it so.

Rumor: Leasel Rovedas Pregnant, Lara The Daddy

2010-02-12T19:48:00.002-04:00

A birdie told me Brian Lara and Leasel Rovedas are having another baby

Lara Mansion Burgled - Beyonce Tickets Stolen

2010-02-04T00:44:00.003-04:00

Brian Lara's Chancellor Hill mansion was burgled yesterday, and among the items stolen are 100 VVIP tickets for the upcoming Beyonce concert at the Queens Park Savannah.
The tickets are worth TT$160,000.

Police sources say his Order of Australia medal and jewelry was also part of the theft and the value of all items are more than one million dollars.

Brian Lara's company, Lay Management, was controversially awarded the contract to construct the massive stage for the concert, but the question on citizen's lips is what is he doing with 100 tickets in a safe?

Kamla Wins UNC Party Leader

2010-01-25T01:23:00.002-04:00

In a crushing blow to the status quo, Kamla ousted Basdeo Panday as the Political leader of the UNC (United National Congres).
She now becomes the first female leader of a major political party in the Nation's history.

The Silver Fox of course, is not likely to go quietly and give up his other post, Leader of the Opposition. In fact, he said as much tonight, saying, "If you like democracy, you must like it all the way".

In effect, he is challenging Mrs Persad-Bissessar to prove she has the support of at least 7 MP's in Parliament, excluding herself.
It appears she has the immediate support of 4 members, Harry Partap, Winston Peters, Jack Warner, and possibly, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

Earlier this week, Mr Peters more than suggested there were others. My guess would be Nazim Baksh, Roodilal Moonilal and Hamza Rafeeq.

Whatever happens, politics in Trinidad and Tobago will never be the same.

Racist Australian KFC Cricket Ad?

2010-01-06T13:06:00.003-04:00

KFC Australia were forced to issue a statement after controversy erupted over an advertisement featuring West Indies supporters.

In the advert, a lone Australian among an overly cheerful crowd of West Indian supporters uses a bucket of KFC chicken to shut them up.

Australian KFC officials say the advert was "misinterpreted by a segment of people in the US and it is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team"

Trinidad Couple Fight On The Promenade

2009-11-13T19:09:00.004-04:00

This place becoming too crazy. I think I need to move to Canada

Miss Trinidad and Tobago Wyatt Gallery Tape

2009-11-05T17:44:00.005-04:00

Rumours are invading the airwaves that an unnamed former Miss Trinidad and Tobago has a sextape floating around after a torrid encounter in the Hyatt.

Pictured above is Anya Ayoung Chee and Gabrielle Walcott but it is not to be inferred that either of them is the Miss Trinidad and Tobago in question.

One man killed after Police raid the Beetham Gardens following a protest

2009-10-15T19:40:00.005-04:00

Well it's even more shame on the once beautiful and serene Trinidad after Police swooped on the Beetham -killing one man in the process- after a fiery protest on the Beetham Highway.

Eyewitness accounts speak of police brutality and sheer terror as more than two dozen police vehicles packed with riot police siezed upon the Phase 4 aka Hell Yard residents.

More to follow on this.

Rozelle Phillips kicked out of X Factor

2009-09-27T19:58:00.002-04:00

Tobago born Rozelle Phillips failed to make it to the Final 6 on X Factor.
Too bad.

Dwight Yorke Book 'Born to Score' reveals sordid details of relationship with Jordan Katie Price

2009-09-27T17:57:00.002-04:00

All I knew about her was that she'd become famous for what was now staring me in the face," he admits. "She was quite a picture with that celebrated, surgically-enhanced figure squeezed inside a sort of police uniform outfit revealing plenty of cleavage. It was difficult not to look at her."

Katie Price jibes are untrue, says Dwight Yorke in exclusive video interview

Inevitably the celeb couple hooked up and spent the rest of the night chatting. Dwight had visions of adding Katie's treasure chest to his trophy cabinet of conquests. But he adds: "My hopes for a more entertaining end to the evening were quickly dashed. Jordan made it clear nothing like that was on the agenda - she even paid for her own McDonald's.

"All I got that night was a bag of chicken nuggets and a definite sense of anticlimax!"

Kanye meme featuring Trinidad and Tobago

2009-09-21T22:42:00.002-04:00

Shit never loses its funny.

Trinidad 4x100m relay team runs 3rd fastest time in history

2009-08-22T21:45:00.001-04:00

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Interview with the World Championship silver medal winning 4x100 relay team from Trinidad & Tobago (Brown, Burns, Callender and Thompson)

Antigua unveils Mount Obama

2009-08-07T01:12:00.001-04:00

Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, left, unveils a stone sculpture and plaque honoring President Barack Obama as Brent Hardt, charge d'affairs of the U.S. embassy in Barbados, looks on during a ceremony naming Antigua's highest mountain 'Mount Obama' in St. John's, Antigua, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. The small Caribbean nation celebrated the American president on his birthday and saluted him as a symbol of black achievement.
(AP Photo/Johnny Jno-Baptiste)

Sea the Stars wins the Epsom Derby

2009-06-06T13:18:00.002-04:00

Classic ride by Mick Kinane, but I don't know if the finish was quite strong enough for the Arc.

St Kitts Prime Minister wants to be Monica Lewinsky for President Obama

2009-04-29T08:56:00.003-04:00

"Obama is a very nice,loving, young man"
Denzil Douglas - St Kitts & Nevis PM

This is just ridiculous.
Prime Minister Manning says a lot of nonsense but even he, would never take it to this level.

Video: Hillary Clinton Wants to come for Carnival

2009-04-27T01:43:00.001-04:00

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton avoids the questions on Daniel Ortega by praising the Summit's cultural presentation and says she would love to get a taste of Carnival

Is Precioius the artiste whose pictures were leaked on Facebook?

2009-04-05T19:02:00.001-04:00

After news broke that a news presenter at a popular radio station in Port-of-Spain has been arrested by police, after allegedly distributed nvde pictures of a popular female soca artiste across the Internet; rumours abound that the artiste in question is Precious. (see picture)

The Law Association has it wrong.

2009-02-18T11:54:00.003-04:00

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Carla Brown-Antoine is entitled to know why the Prime Minister has vetoed her appointment as acting DPP, the Law Association and it's President Martin Daly stated yesterday.

Of course neither the Prime Minister nor the JLSC have confirmed a veto. But assuming it is the case, why should Manning make public, his reservations.
We've already witnessed the Law Courts shoot down the Prime Minister's and the Service's Constitutional right to transfer employees and revoke appointments.

In the case of the Foreign Officer whose appointment was revoked on information 'vital' to national security, a court judgment said that was not enough.
With Ms Coudray the court appeared to agree with her case for victimisation.

In short, Manning receives no justice from the courts, regardless of his Constitutional powers.

So take it to the courts, but understand this; when the Prime Minister's concerns are aired, you may just be costing Miss Antoine her job.

Prime Minister Manning Cancer Surgery a Success

2008-12-17T18:44:00.004-04:00

Prime Minister Patrick Manning is resting comfortably after the successful removal of a tumour from his left kidney. Hurrah for that!

But amidst all the well-wishes and not so well-wishes from Trinbagonians, I'm totally shocked by the lack of support from regional leaders.
Manning has always presented himself as the Godfather of the Caribbean, doling out our monies with ease after the passing of every unfortunate event.
However, in his time of need, not one leader I know of has offered any public disply of support to our Prime Minister.

Let's hope Manning learns a lesson from this as his mashed potatoes are fed to him; that 'dey doh give ah dam bout yuh'

Fireball's 'What I Want' up to #14 on Billboard Dance Chart

2008-09-30T02:32:00.002-04:00

Soca star 'Fireball' continues to blaze a fire up the Billboard Dance Chart as his Caribbean and European #1 hit track 'What I Want' moved three spaces to #14
The track which adds an operatic flavour to a soca rhythm is three years old but seems to have an eternal flame.

Here's the remix version of the track for those yet to hear it.

Trinidad and Tobago murder count tops 400 for the first time

2008-09-28T02:23:00.004-04:00

Two murders in South Trinidad in the early hours of Saturday morning pushed the murder count to an unofficial 401 for 2008. Sadly, the dubious record is almost certainly to be added to.
Even sadder, 88% of those murders remain 'undetected'; an astonishing statistic!

The excuses ring hollower than ever, and no longer do we buy any of them... not that you can afford to buy anything in a nation where inflation rates are almost comical.

The Government has failed us! It has failed us not only because of incompetence, but moreso because of selfishness.
That the Prime Minister persists with entrusting Minister Martin Joseph to chart a course and steer us out of this morass reveals him to be a pitifully and dangerously self-absorbed individual.

The Prime Minister would rather have this country citizens sink hundreds at a time into 6 feet holes of earth than admit failure. It is more important that he not accept he has got it wrong than to try to do what is right.
Fix me first my fucking ass, Mr Manning; go fix yuh fucking self.

Trini red girl at the Jazz Festival

2008-07-25T20:32:00.002-04:00

Picture of a Trinidad red girl, who was an official at the recent Tobago Jazz Festival.
I haven't put up a Trini girl for a while, so why not.

Marc Burns runs 9.97 at London Grand Prix

2008-07-25T20:17:00.003-04:00

With the Olympic Games just two weeks away, Trinidad and Tobago's best hope for a medal now lies with Marc Burns and the 4x100 men's relay team.

Burns ascension to T&T's #1 sprinter was confirmed in London, today when he ran a year's best time of 9.97 to finish second to Jamaica's Asafa Powell in the 100 metres Final at the Aviva London Grand Prix.

Powell surged ahead in the final 10 metres in a time of 9.94 to comfortably hold off a fast surging Marc Burns.

Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, who earlier this week singed a contract with Nike Sports; finished fourth in 10.01.
Add the inconsistent Darrel Brown to the mix and T&T has three sub-10 runners to form a powerful relay unit.

But the question some are left to ask is, why has Burns never tried the 200m.
We'll never know.

Google launches rival to Wikipedia

2008-07-24T09:36:00.002-04:00

Trinidad and Tobago students can now access material from a rival to Wwikipedia; not that you were supposed to use Wikipedia anyway.
Well yesterday Google launched 'knol'.

Knols are articles on specific topics written by qualified academics with proven expertise on that subject.

Google has also partnered with the now controversial New Yorker magazine to allow any author to add a cartoon from the magazine to their knol.

What is in it for the authors/academics?
Well money of course.
The Knol authors can run ads with their articles and receive a cut of the revenue from Google.

Hyperthymestic Syndrome

2008-05-17T00:43:00.004-04:00

Brad Williams can tell you what he was doing on any given day for almost every day of his life. He can also tell you what world events happened that day.
How can he do that you ask? Well Brad Williams is one of only three people in the world identified with this off-the-charts autobiographical memory known as hyperthymestic syndrome.

The name was given by researchers at the University of California-Irvine, derived from the Greek words for excessive (hyper) and remembering (thymesis).

Unlike most people whose memories fade with time, much of Williams' life is etched indelibly in his mind.

"It's just there," said Williams, 51, who reports the news for a family of radio stations in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
California researchers are now studying Williams and the two others with hyperthymestic Syndrome - a man in Ohio and woman in California - hoping to gain new insights into how a superior memory works.

In this age of instant information, what can you do with phenomenal recall?

"I don't really know. I've thought about it for years," said Williams, the 1969 Wisconsin Spelling Bee champion. Williams appeared on "Jeopardy!" but finished second.
Go figure!

Michael Annisette must be fired for wajank behaviour

2008-05-14T18:34:00.003-04:00

Anyone who saw today's Udecott press conference live on television, or listened on the radio; must now be clear of one thing...this country is in serious trouble.
If you did not know it before, it was shoved down our ears and eyes, today.

How utterly embarrassing, that this group of loathsome incompetents could be charged with the responsibility for billions of dollars of our money.

But, what makes it absolutely indigestible, was listening to the Honourable Senator -and oh how it pains to say that- Michael Annisette.
His behaviour wasn't rumshop behaviour; it was not the worst I've seen in my life; but it was definitely shameless.

If Rowley was dismissed for wajank behaviour, then he must have jumped on tables, thrown cushions, cursed, and pulled down his pants. Because it would take that and more to top the finger-pointing, shoulder-throwing mindless, irrelevant rant that Senator Annisette displayed today.

What a day!
What a day!

Mr. Manning, it's up to you now; you know what to do... fire Mr Michael Annisette from the Board of Udecott.

Beautiful Trinidad Girl

2008-05-11T18:54:00.003-04:00

Browsing the web I found these pictures of a Trini-girl. From the background I would guess she's from Arima, and more specifically, Maloney.

Kenwyne Jones is not for sale at any price

2008-05-08T22:12:00.004-04:00

Sunderland manager Roy Keane, yesterday, described Trinidad and Tobago' Kenwyne Jones as an 'untouchable"; and said he will not be sold for any price.

Jones has been recently touted as a potential replacement for Chelsea's Didier Drogba who is almost certain to play his last match for the 'Blues' in the Champion Leagues Final.

But Jones shot-down any thoughts of his being ready to move to a bigger Club, saying, "Hopefully I'll be here for a long time," said the 23-year-old. "You don't want to be a gypsy type player where you're moving from one place to another and not settling. It's flattering that clubs are interested in me but at the moment I'm focused on my job that I have to do here."

That's a top decision in my opinion because Jones needs playing time, and playing under Keane will do nothing but develop him further.
At 23, Jones has enough time ahead of him to secure a big-money move to a larger Club.

Machel Montano to be charged for assault

2007-05-23T17:08:00.000-04:00

Local sources say soca superstar Machel Montano will be charged with four-counts including assault and occasioning bodily harm.

The charges stem from an incident outside the Zen nightclub in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad when party-goers were allegedly assaulted by well-known entertainers that included Machel Montano, Zan, Benjai and Shal Marshall

Government Minister robbed by French police impersonators

2007-05-22T02:19:00.000-04:00

Trinidad and Tobago has to be the most exciting place on earth without a war.

With all the attention focused on Minister of Planning and Development, Camille Robinson-Regis' admitted inappropriate use of a First Citizen's Bank state funded credit card, the spotlight has now turned to her opposition equivalent.

It was revealed in Parliament yesterday, by Dr. Keith Rowley; that the former Attorney General, Kamla Persad Bissessar, was robbed of ₣30,000 by two men impersonating members of the French Police.

This begs the question, in fact it begs many questions; one of which is, why would a Minister walk around with that sort of cash, on her own?

At this stage you have to wonder if Trinidadians and Tobagonians deserve an opposition so deeply mired in suspicion and corruption.

The Leader of the Opposition cannot represent his constituency in Parliament because of a matter before the Court. And almost half of the Opposition members have defected de facto and in fact to the newest political entity, The Congress of the People (CoP)

And now this sordid affair that reads like an episode of 'Allo Allo'

Without making any allegations, this tale seems completely bogus. It almost sounds like an attempt to rob the nation's purse with a false claim of robbery.

I really hope this is a case of truth being stranger than fiction because if it isn't, the UNC parliamentarians ought to leave this nation's politics for good.

Danah Alleyne savaged on TMZ.com

2007-05-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

It's the story that won't go away.
Weeks after the incident where Trinidadian teenager Danah Alleyne was throw around like a rag-doll whilst under the gyrating pop-star Akon, the condemnation of her continues to boil.

As a Trini I have no problem with Danah being told of her responsibility in the affair but it's gone overboard. And it has gone overboard at the same time blame attached to Akon is softened.

The genesis for this is the fact that she is a 15 yr old girl who not only looks older than her birth-age but acts that way as well. It is also true that had Zen nightclub done what they ought to she should not have been at the night-club at all.
But that in no way excuses or lessens the real culprit in the matter; Akon.

Akon should never have mistreated any concert-goer in the contemptuous way he did Danah Alleyne, and that's the crux of the matter.
He disrespected a woman, on stage, in our country and now he's paying for it.

Mind you, he is not the first artiste to have done so, and locals are serial offenders at this behaviour; but he did what he did and he is paying for his mistake.
Her being under-aged was the catalyst for the negative reaction but, that's the way things go at times.
At the end of the day this incident might warn all artistes that they are the act and we are paying to watch them perform not to perform ourselves; or to be abused.

That said, Danah continues to be savaged and it's really time for her to remove those provocative pictures from her MySpace account; because she is simply giving ammunition to those who want to attack her

Why has Machel Montano not been arrested?

2007-05-12T13:14:00.000-04:00

It seems simple enough to me; there was a fracas at Club Zen where witnesses identify and implicate Machel Montano, Benjai, Zan and others including Shall Marshall; allegedly.
Why then have no arrests been made or even contemplated?

What more evidence is needed?
It would be an arrest only, not a decision; yet no step has been taken to seek the Public's interest in the matter.

It appears the prevailing authorities are afraid to arrest or charge Machel; or perhaps they are giving him all the time he needs to settle out of court.
That's Trinidad for you; corrupt tot he core.

The law is a Chief Justice hole

2006-07-28T18:20:00.000-04:00

I haven't had the time to post because I am still recovering from the World Cup experience but as you know the country and it's virtues are being battered daily by a selfish, alleged criminal of a Chief Justice.

Having steadfastly refused to step down he made the magnanimous gesture of relinquishing his judicial responsibilities until the matter is resolved or he is jailed which ever comes last.

What I want to know is who gave him the right to do less than half the job and receive full pay. These big-shots always believe they can do crap like that as if they own the Judiciary. You are being paid to do 100% of your job, not 25%.

If you can't do it all then why are we paying all of his tax-free salary?

The reason why Zidane head-butted Materazzi

2006-07-10T12:42:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in a long long time but after seeing a post from my ex schoolmate I had to link it here.
According to the Zidane head-butt video on "Arsenal wtf"; the French Captain head-butted the Italian defender because he lingered on his breasts a little too long for comfort.

However, Zidane's agent said that Materazzi said something very very bad to him and that provoked the reaction. I don't know about that because the video doesn't show him saying much of anything.
Maybe he said Zidane was gay or a terrorist, I don't know.

England vs Trinidad tactical breakdown

2006-06-14T13:37:00.000-04:00

Graham Taylor, the former England and Aston Villa coach who brought Trinidad and Tobago captain, Dwight Yorke to England; has a wonderful tactical breakdown of the match on the BBC today.
I have it here for you:

England's tempo: If England have learned anything from their game against Paraguay it's that they must move the ball quicker.
As soon as anyone has a third touch on the ball, you slow a passing movement down.

Joe Cole is a very talented player but he has improved because he has learned how to play the game more simply. He now knows when to get it, give it and then move on. That is what England need to do. They must keep the tempo high by moving the ball around quickly.

It is important to emphasise that the tempo of the game is not judged by how quickly you run but how quickly you move the ball.
So can we play at a fast tempo for 90 minutes? Australia managed it against Japan and a lot of their players play in Europe.

International tournaments are played in the summer. It is not as if our players have not played in the heat before in these competitions. Our problems in the opening game came from three or four England players not getting their passing right.

England's defensive line: In effect England need to play like a Premiership club side against Trinidad & Tobago.
Part of that is closing people down and bringing the back line further up the field which we did not do against Paraguay.

But it is difficult to do this against teams who have possession for long periods.
We have got to press when we have not got the ball and when we do have it, we have got to hold it up so our back four can push forward.

Sven's subs: Sven-Goran Eriksson has been criticised for making like-for-like substitutions in the past. At least when he took off Michael Owen he was trying to change the format.
But the result was that Peter Crouch was isolated and it became harder for England to hold onto the ball.

Crouch has not got the pace to run into the channels like Owen. You have to play it into him. I see no reason why we will need to supplement our midfield on Thursday. If Eriksson wants to make a change maybe we will see Theo Walcott. If not, why did we bring him?

Trinidad's danger man: England's midfield need to pressurise Dwight Yorke, who had a great game against Sweden.
The deeper Dwight goes, the better for England. They should try to press him so that he's picking the ball up from his centre backs.

If he gets space around the halfway line, he will hurt you. And if he has a chance in the box, he will finish. Trinidad & Tobago made an excellent effort against Sweden and if they prevent England from winning it will be unbelievable

Man beheaded in Laventille, Trinidad

2006-06-12T23:13:00.000-04:00

Well if the rumours are true, then the local newspapers will tomorrow bring citizens the news that a man was beheaded in Laventille yesterday afternoon. Sources tell me the Police have decided to keep it a secret until a lead had been investigated but that proved useless and the information was released to the media late yesterday.

If I know the local newspapers and I think I do, you will most likely find the picture in the Newsday and later on in the TNT Mirror.

Will it ever stop.

Trinidad & Tobago earn a massive point, Sweden loses two valuable points

2006-06-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

Superb coaching, good goalkeeping, resolute defending, poor play by Sweden and luck, earned the Soca Warriors a memorable point in this Nation's first effort at the World Cup.
Now I know fans are excited and probably creating fantasy scenarios of qualifying for the second round but we need to temper that with reality. The truth is Trinidad and Tobago had very few attacking opportunities with only one brilliant effort from distance by Cornell Glen and a fierce drive by Edwards that flew straight to the Swedish goalkeeper.

The victory, oops, draw, was won by a determined defensive structure that re-proves what a coaching miracle Beenhakker has provided. We first saw the signs of a proper defensive unit in the away match against Mexico when Trinidad and Tobago battled for near 80 mins before an error spoilt the result.
Here, in Germany, the structure was evident, although Sweden had clearly learnt from the mistakes against Czech Republic to attack our left-back. They targeted Avery John at every opportunity and in the end it paid off for them as the left-back became the first player sent off at the World Cup Finals 2006.
Some may dispute the referee's decision but the second yellow card was for intent, because he clearly got the ball.

Sweden had massive amounts of possession but few genuine opportunities to score, the best of which were a wonderful volley from Ibrahimovich which struck Hislop rather that him saving it; and a close range shot from Allback that was brilliantly saved by Shaka.

So a point then, and a crucial one at that because it gives the Soca Warriors a real chance at the second round. I don't expect our boys to beat England or even earn a draw, but a victory against Paraguay seems more and more possible.
I'll appreciate your comments.

Cayman Islands revisited

2006-06-09T16:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah yeah, I know I just posted a few pictures of Cayman Islands girls but I forgot this picture I just had to post. Ignore the two men in the picture -although the girls tell me they are goodlooking- and feast your eyes on the resplendent thickness to the left.
Is there anything better than a thick girl? My friend just shouted out to me "a thick girl with money". That's a good answer, lol.

Pictures of Cayman Islands women

2006-06-09T15:48:00.000-04:00

Hey, I know Trinidadians love to claim ownership of everything but believe it or not we did not invent the concept of taking pictures at events and placing them online, a la Triniscene.com
That's a routine thing all over the world. It would be a good idea therefore for those of you who enjoy looking at things like that to become acquainted with other similar sites.
I'll start and whomever reads this can add others in the comments box, my pick of the week is Party Surfers from the Cayman Islands party circuit. Take a visit and you'll find pictures as those below...
Click on the pictures to make them slightly larger.

Latapy says he wont give up chain smoking

2006-06-09T00:10:00.000-04:00

In the Guardian -not that shithole Guardian in Trinidad- the UK Guardian; Russell Latapy admits to smoking 10 cigarettes a day. Now, all Trinidadians and Tobagonians know that not all of those ten cigarettes come in nice, clean packs from the supermarket, but that's another story.

The Little Magician, as we call him in these parts says "it is something I choose to do and it has never affected my performance." He went further in his ignorant mind to say "I don't smoke a lot and never in the public domain or in front of the team at training or the like."

Reading that shit makes me very worried. It's one thing to have a nicotine addict (Leo Beenhakker) as coach, but when one of your main playmakers is smoking ten cigarettes a day, that's a problem.
In fact, if you ask me I think Latapy and a few others are quite fortunate to be there competing in the highest stage of football. If this were a serious football nation we would never take a team so filled to the brim with geriatrics. The squad has two goalkeepers (Jack and Hislop) over 36, a centre-midfielder (Latapy) who's what? 38? And the Captain is 36 I think.

The team is simply too old. Even Aurtis Whitley whom I believe is the best player on the team is almost 30. To me that's where this team will be defeated; as we have seen in the past with Cameroon and Senegal you can over come experience, but it will be far more difficult to overcome old age, and especially so when you are smoking ten 'cough cough' cigarettes.

Sick of Ian Bishop and his trifling commentary

2006-06-04T10:48:00.000-04:00

Perhaps you disagree but I am sick of Ian Bishop and his wannabe Englishman/Aussie commentary, I am fedup of his adopting words and phrases as 'sussed' and 'having a go'.
The whole point of an International cast is for each person to bring his own culture, identity and experience but Bishop is simply an extension of the Aussie and English commentators. He adds nothing Caribbean. Even his head bowed and lips pressed together look as the camera returns to him from the "highlights" is borrowed from English commentator, Mark Nicholas.

Put simply, Ian Bishop has no identity, he is just another foreigner commentating on West Indies cricket.

TSTT offering wireless broadband

2006-05-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) is offering wireless broadband service using CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology to provide internet access wherever there is EV-DO coverage.
EV-DO is the acronym for 'Evolution-Data Optimized.' which allows a maximum download speed of 2.4Mbps and upload speed of 153.6Kbps. The average TSTT EV-DO users will experience a download speed of 400 to 700Kbps, or more than 15 times faster than the average TSTT DSL user.

The higher upload and download speeds will greatly increase interactive gaming and video streaming which is still relatively rare among Trinidad and Tobago home internet users. Further to that there will be no requirement for a phone line. In the past potential applicants had to be either the owner of a home line or be so authorised by the owners to act on their behalf; a system that caused regret to many who rented apartments or homes.

PRICE:
There are 3 service charges
1) a one time terminal device fee
2) a one time sign up fee
3) monthly rental

The terminal Device Fee is $1,575 + VAT, BUT IS FREE upon the signing of contracts 1 year or more

The sign-up Fee is $690 VAT inclusive but sources say it may be waived for existing customers upgrading to EV-DO.

Monthly Rental is $575 per month (VAT inclusive) but is reduced on the basis of contract length as follows:

a) 1 year contract $475 + VAT
b) 2 year contract $425 + VAT
c) 3 year contract $375 + VAT

To sign up, you can download and complete the following forms
Application form
Term contract
Monthly Contract

TSTT has a FAQ page you can access as well
TSTT Wireless Broadband FAQ page

Patrick Vieira and Trinidadian wife gassed by burglars at their home in France

2006-05-24T20:09:00.000-04:00

Juventus and France midfielder Patrick Vieira, his wife Trinidadian Cheryl 'Cherie' Vieira, and her daughter were gassed by burglars at their villa in Cannes, France yesterday.
The footballer and his family were knocked out by the gas enabling the burglars to loot the household of jewels and cash. The robbers fled the scene in Vieira's Mercedes Benz. The car was later found abandoned in Nice, France.

Gas was pumped into the house to keep the Vieiras asleep, but the French midfielder was cleared to resume training with the France World Cup squad after a medical check.
Trinidadian born wife Cheryl Vieira and daughter Cheries were both recovering at home and police said there should be no long-term medical effects of the drugging.

Earlier today French police held five suspects in the robbery for questioning.

Trinidad and Tobago Senator in plane scare

2006-05-19T16:32:00.000-04:00

UNC Opposition Senator, Ato Boldon, was involved in a scare as his flight out of Piarco International Airport was delayed because there was not enough fuel in the aircraft. Boldon, text messaged Anil Roberts on Power 102 FM Radio to alert him that his flight was grounded because airline officials discovered there was not enough fuel to complete the flight.
Update to follow

Trinidadian man caught in Dateline MSNBC sting

2006-05-18T23:21:00.000-04:00

If you were one of those Trinbagonians sat before your television sets watching Dateline NBC you received the shock of your life when a Trinidadian male was the feature predator in their child-seduction Internet sting operation.

The guy who brought national shame to all of us is Marvin Lakhan, screenname "crazytrini85." Lakhan met his intended victim in an online chat room and struck up a conversation with the girl who gave her name as Cindy. Having discovered she was a virgin, Lakhan sends her a picture of his genitals and asks her if she'll try anal sex, adding "it's better than regular sex."
Not content, he asks her if she would perform an act with her pet kitten and negotiates a deal for her to do so if he walks in her home naked.

The damn stupid, asshole Trinidadian actually strips his clothes and waits for the teenager, only to be surprised by the Dateline correspondent. The reporter asks him to get a towel but the damn trini fool has an erection and forms a tent with the towel.
At this point I was too embarrassed to look and turned off the damn television. It's not enough that citizens here are causing consternation and shame but now we have expatriates casting negativity upon us. All I can say is bring on Benny Hinn, even fake prayers can't do any worse.
Oh jeezan ages man. Go read the story and partial transcript on Dateline's webpage.

TV6 imitates Fox News with the accent on beauty and not brains

2006-05-14T19:16:00.000-04:00

Have you seen TV6 news recently? It's all about goodlooks and sex now because they have added two new newsreaders Cherise D'Abadie and Samantha Joseph.
Cherise is a buxom beauty with wonderful enunciation but it's hard to appreciate her pronunciation skills when you are focused on her more obvious assets. But having seen her a month or so now I think she has the ability to impress.

Certainly Colleen Holder has grown into her role and now, is arguably the best television news reader in Trinidad and Tobago. So it would not be a great surprise if Cherise becomes more of a journalist and less of just a pretty face on television.

With the expanding news format of afternoon, evening and late evening news TV6 clearly needed a third news anchor and they seem to have settled on radio personality Sammy Jo. But of course that name is a bit too adolescent for the seriousness of news so she has reverted to her birth name of Samantha Joseph. Samantha cut her teeth on radio and recently got a break on Synergy TV as an entertainment correspondent but as of last week she has hit the big time.

She has done well so far but as with any woman of the fairer complexion is obsessed with using red lipstick and that is a real turnoff to most viewers. But tonight on the Sunday news she has discarded the bright red for a light pink and that's the best decision she has made all week.

So, there we go, two beautiful women have been added to our newscasts and I am not complaining. Are you?

2007 Cricket World Cup tickets on sale

2006-05-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

Tickets for the Cricket World Cup 2007 are on sale online says World Cup organiser, and former Miss Universe, Janelle 'Penny' Commissiong.
Penny says tickets go on sale at the official website.

Locally, tickets are available at the Hasley Crawford Stadium, the Ato Boldon Stadium and the Scarborough Office of TSTT.
The only other interesting bit of news was Penny's revelation that tickets for the Final are available to purchasers of tickets for previous games only. So no tickets for you one game fans.

Candid photos in Trinidad and Tobago

2006-05-01T02:12:00.000-04:00

My problem is I take too many pictures and then don't post them online. I have hundreds of pictures of life, parties and women in Trinidad and Tobago and sooner or later I'll upload them for you guys to enjoy.

So what's up then?
Earlier this week I was in St Augustine at the new HILO grocery and I saw Ato Boldon driving -what looked like a Toyota Camry- on that street between HILO and Mario's Pizzeria. He stopped for me to cross (that was nice of him) but I told him hang on a minute, "I want to take your picture."

Senator Boldon complied but the dang digital camera was taking an age to load and I had it on the wrong settings. Meanwhile the drivers of the few cars behind Senator Boldon were having an hissy fit because I kept them back a few seconds and started hitting their horns.
I tell you, Trinidadians have become very impatient. The end all was Boldon had to drive off because of those cacaholes and I only got a picture of his hands as he drove off. I wasted my blasted time.

Later that week I took a drive to Courts Furniture Store on South Quay, Port-of-Spain and as I was driving I saw the guy who portrays 'Roger' from the Gayelle Television series 'Snacks'.I cannot remember his name, but the actor was walking down the street casually and unbothered with his peeled oranges. Here is the picture I took...

As he passed by a beautiful girl walked behind him so I took her picture as well, much to her surprise...

At the week's end I visited the Club at Chaguaramas to have a look at the young sailors go through their paces on their Peakes sponsored mini-yachts.

Trinidadian born actress Nia Long at the ESPN Pre NFL Draft party

2006-04-30T04:14:00.000-04:00

It wasn't that long ago that Nia Long returned to the Caribbean to reacquaint herself with her Trinidadian roots and if I remember correctly her family lived in the borough of Arima.
Taxing my memory further I recall her aunt was a bit of an hottie as well.
I don't know what acting projects she has lately but she was mentioned in Missy Eliot's verse in the Busta Rhymes remix.
Get low Nia...here are pictures of Nia Long at the ESPN NFL party.

Also at the NFL party were Nina Skye, the Puerto Rican born hip-hop duet; and Farnsworth Bentley. Not the fake Farnsworth Bentley from Urban radio station 94.1 but the ex-butler for Sean P-Diddy Combs. Last I heard Bentley signed a record deal.

Tobago Jazz Festival pictures Pt 3

2006-04-29T04:21:00.000-04:00

Yet more pictures of the Tobago Jazz Festival held last weekend. The event was tremendously successful and the International artistes were all very good. Here are some more pictures of the actors and musicians who visited and performed on our shores.

Patti LaBelle and Vanessa Williams

Patti LaBelle

Johnny Gill and Vanessa Williams

Doug E. Fresh, Anthony Anderson, Derek Luke, Chris Tucker, AJ, Stevie Wonder and Gabrielle Union

More Plymouth, Tobago Jazz Festival pictures

2006-04-29T03:02:00.000-04:00

I am still sorting all my photos of Carnival 2006 and the Jazz Festival, recently held in Plymouth Tobago. Unlike my promise to post pictures of The Kanye West Concert (I can't find the photos) I actually posted some pictures of Carnival 2006 and the Jazz Festival.

Well here are yet more pictures of the Tobago Jazz Festival. The stars featured are hip-hop legend Doug E Fresh, Sean John clothing label owner and music mogul P Diddy, music legend and icon Stevie Wonder, etc.

P Diddy and Doug E. Fresh

Destra Garcia

Stevie Wonder and Doug E. Fresh

Stevie Wonder and Natalie Cole

Chris Tucker

Tobago Plymouth Jazz Festival pictures

2006-04-29T02:34:00.000-04:00

I attended the Jazz Festival every night indulging himself in the entertainment on offer. A host of Trinidad and Tobago celebrities were there, with Leasel Rovedas -Brian Lara's ex and why?- the best looking of them all.
The organisers have definitely improved from last year when they had to give tickets away to not have an embarrassing crowd.

I had to near kill somebody to get a hotel room though but eventually I got sorted at the Hilton Hotel. Cost me a bucketful of money though because those Shylock's jacked up the price.
Until I get all my pictures sorted -and that usually takes me a while- here are a few for you to enjoy featuring Sting, Vanessa Williams, Gabrielle Union (I swear she lives here) and a pop-down looking Destra Garcia.

I swear I am so damn fedup of Destra Garcia and those gimmickry short shorts. Get rid of them please and change your image. But that said, her performance was tight as usual.
Best moment was the Kees and Patti La Belle duet.

Sting and Vanessa Williams

Gabrielle Union, Destra Garcia and AJ

Speaking of plastic surgery

2006-04-27T12:21:00.000-04:00

Funny how things work out, I just posted that experience I had with a local woman and her plastic surgery then I read an article on Tisha Campbell.
You remember her, she was Martin Lawrence's wife on the hit television sitcom, 'Martin.
Well Tisha is looking a hot mess these days after what looks like a terrible experience with a plastic surgeon

Plastic surgery in Trinidad and Tobago

2006-04-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

Perhaps I needed breasts to know about this before but it was only last week I learnt that Trinidad has plastic surgeons offering breasts augmentation and liposuction -suction lipectomy.
How did I find out?
It's a funny story, I was at the gas-station on Tragarete Road, you know the one, opposite the member's Club near Maraval. Anyway, this lady pulls up in a blue-grey Audi A4 and alights from the automobile and clearly had breast implants.
So curiousity got the better of me and I asked her.
Yes, you read me right, I stepped to her and asked. And she answered.

She wasn't apologetic at all -and why should she be- and gave me the doctor's name too. It's a husband and wife operation in Port-of-Spain.
So there you go.

Basdeo Panday, Opposition Leader sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined $20000

2006-04-24T11:53:00.000-04:00

Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicholls today found Opposition Leader in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, Basdeo Panday, guilty of filing a knowingly false declaration with regard to his financial interests. In other words, he lied about how much money he has!

The State had employed the services of British Queens Counsel Sir Timothy Cassel and his excellent prosecution of the case provided no other choice for the Chief Magistrate. The State essentially proved that Mr. Panday was clearly aware of the existence of the National Westminster Bank account and had no credible explanation for the source of the funds.

The explanation proffered was of a gift given to him by billionaire industrialist Mr Duprey. On Saturday Mr Duprey's Insurance headquarters was searched by way of a warrant for evidence of the aforesaid payment.

At the moment Mr Panday is seeking bail as he issues an appeal against the verdict.
More worryingly Mr. Panday may have to forfeit his parliamentary seat as laws prohibit a member with a criminal conviction from sitting in Parliament.

Trinidad Carnival 2006 pictures from Customs boys fete at the National Stadium Trinidad Tobago

2006-04-18T15:47:00.000-04:00

I know I know it's taken me forever to upload the promised Carnival pictures but they are here for your entertainment pleasure. I was at all the fetes this year and my boy Anti was also here, albeit briefly for Carnival 2006.

Here are the pictures from Customs Boys fete at the training ground of the National Stadium in Port-of-Spain Trinidad. Come for a vacation if you've never been; it's a great country to visit.
There are 17 (seventeen) photos. If you are not seeing all of them keep visiting because it probably means I got tired of uploading all of them on this God forsaken dial-up Internet connection.

ACCA and AAT Accounting students in Trinidad and Tobago

2006-04-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

Because of the exapnding private tertiary education industry in Trinidad and Tobago alot of students are now enrolled in University degree courses.
Traditionally though in the days when SAM (School of Accounting and Management) and Omardeen's School of Accountancy were the only two credible institutions one had to rely on the lecturers to gather information.

Quite frankly that was not a good option because the lecturers were very much part-timers and would advise you to wait for the paid-for refresher courses at the end. Well you don't have to wait now because I have found an excellent website that answers all your accounting questions regardless of your level or particular course.

The website is Accountancystudents.co.uk and I urge you to register and have your queries taken care of...

On another note I promised to upload some pictures of Carnival 2006 well I will and I'll do it right here in this accountancy post over the next few days. Keep returning and your picture may appear.

Using Google and Yahoo to pay your mortgage and insurance in Trinidad and Tobago

2006-03-27T11:12:00.000-04:00

If you are living in Trinidad and Tobago you know there is much to enjoy but you will also know that there are lots to annoy.
One particular annoyance is the high cost of living and I am not harping on the mundane or important things like food and clothing. No I speak of the high cost of housing.

If you are middle-class (whatever that means) or better earning 100000 a year or better, it doesn't take more than a month or two to learn you cannot buy decent accommodation in this country where a house in a livable neighbourhood begins at 500000 and ends nowhere your salary will ever be able to take you.

Just today I found myself, with a friend -at 4 am- in Dabadie to acquire a number for first preference to purchase a home. The house is valued at 900000!
That alone should tell you that I was not the one purchasing.
What was surprising is she was not even first in line, or twentieth in line, or even thirtieth in line. Indeed there were almost fifty people waiting for a number at 4 am to divest themselves of nearly a million dollars via mortgage.

And the cars they drove to get there tells the tale. No BMWs or Mercedes Benz or Audis, just run of the mill cars -most of them foreign used.
The tale told therefore is one that says the average family earning ten thousand per month have to prepare themselves to devote four to six thousand per month on a mortgage!
Add food, insurance, general expenses and they have nothing.
And don't have children, because you will not be able to afford it.

But, there is always a way, and one way is to supplement your income by sourcing funds in unconventional ways. One way is what I am doing right now; writing on a website with Google Ads, or Yahoo! ads if you prefer.
It won't pay much, it may not pay at all, but if you are lucky -and I have not been lucky yet- you just may be able to earn that few hundred a month that assists your meeting the recurrent expenses.

Google and Yahoo! pay in many currencies and if you choose the US dollar and earn $10 per day you would have added nearly two thousand Trinidad and Tobago dollars a month to your overall income. Definitely something to think about...

If anyone wants my help to setup a website or have further questions on this, let me know.
It has not worked spectacularly for me just yet, but I know many Trinidadians and Tobagonians for whom it has benefited and hopefully in a couple more months I may be singing the same song of success.
Laterz.

Loads of Trinidad and Tobago carnival pictures coming soon

2006-03-01T12:14:00.000-04:00

No, I have not uploaded my pictures just yet, but within the next day or two I will post so many pictures of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival you'd think I am more than one person.
So be patient, keep looking, and by Friday I should begin uploading online, all the photographs we took.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival pictures and photos

2006-02-24T17:40:00.000-04:00

I have had quite a few email asking me if I am ever going to post pictures of Trinidad and Tobago carnival, and especially the women.
I will but as any Trinidadian knows when you are caught up in the parties, fetes and all-inclusives you don't have much time for anything else.

Nevertheless at great sacrifice I am posting a few pictures of various aspects of the Carnival celebrations. At great sacrifice because today is Fantastic Friday and we all know what that means; the International Soca Monarch show at the National Stadium in Mucurapo.

The pictures are of Machel Montano -just killing all the parties he attends with Scandalous, Band of the Year, and Heart of a Man- a traditional Blue Devil and another crazy looking character.

As usual, keep coming back because eventually, I will have the time to post all the pictures of the Carnival celebrations. Of course I said the same thing about the Kanye West concert and I have yet to upload those pictures online.

Ato Boldon sworn in as opposition, UNC senator. Was Roy Augustus forced to resign by Jack Warner?

2006-02-14T15:11:00.000-04:00

In a shock appointment, the opposition United National Congress appointed celebrated track and field athlete, Ato Boldon as a senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Upper House. Boldon fills the vacancy left by the resignation of Roy Augustus.

Boldon, a 4 time Olympic medalist and World Championship 200m Gold medalist was always thought to be interested in politics at a National level, but in a country where race-based voting is the norm, it was believed he would eventually be offered national representation under the ruling party, the People's National Movement(PNM).

Last evening on the FM 106 talk show program hosted by Sandro Mohammed, UNC Deputy Political Leader, Jack Warner -coincidentally, Roy Augustus' employer- teased that the senatorial appointment would shock Trinbagonians, but the betting money was on political analyst Kirk Meighoo. The appointment of Ato Boldon now brings into question whether Augustus resigned in protest of the removal of another opposition Senator, Robin Montano; or whether he was simply asked so to do by his employer and party leaders to facilitate the world renowned sprinter.

Motorola Razr outselling the competition in Trinidad and Tobago

2006-02-14T12:02:00.000-04:00

The cellular phone battle in Trinidad and Tobago among TSTT, Digicel and Laqtel appears to have only one winner.
TSTT's underhanded dealings and lies have secured itself a major advantage over its telecommunications rival.

My source tells me that TSTT has sold a record number of mobile phones in the last quarter and is particularly pleased with the retail sales of the Motorola Razr.
The popular cellphone is jumping off the shelves as consumers are no longer willing to wait three more months for the offerings of rivals Digicel and Laqtel.

I am not surprised. I warned Digicel that its useless secrecy was hurting its potential market share. Digicel should have made known to the public some or all of the mobile phones they intend to offer Trinidad and Tobago consumers.
At this point only free phones can regain the ground and goodwill they have lost.

Digicel's marketing and promotions team is too concerned with appearances at popular fetes and social settings than forging market share. Particularly so, Mrs. Sandra Welch-Farrell.
I remitted an e-mail to Welch-Farrell without reply and quite frankly I am annoyed.
The good lady -who looks exceptional by the way- seems content with media personality Anil Roberts bashing her client on a daily basis without any contending view.
If the marketing executive believes her 'let them talk' strategy and general aloofness is a counter-measure to Roberts' barking she is sadly mistaken.

Editor:Google keeps directing traffic to this site for those who do not know how to adjust the volume on your Motorola Razr. Well the answer is simple, look to the left and to the side of the cellular and you will notice a silver roll-on type thing. You can use that to adjust the volume, but don't expect too much because it's not that loud.

Arsenal right-back to play for Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors

2006-02-13T19:46:00.000-04:00

Sky News broke the story earlier today that Arsenal full-back Justin Hoyte is being targeted by Trinidad and Tobago Dutch born coach Leo Beenhakker to represent this nation at the World Cup Finals in Germany.
Trinidad and Tobago's opponents at the World Cup include England; a team Hoyte has represented at youth level.

Earlier this month FIFA rejected the Soca Warriors appeal to make Aston Villa's J. Lloyd Samuel, and West Ham United's Bobby Zamora eligible on the grounds that they had not changed nationalities before the age of 21.
The situation is the same for Hoyte who turned 21 last November.

Hoyte is currently on loan at Sunderland football club.
The player would be a welcome addition to the squad as he can play at the full-back and centre-back positions.

Coach Beenhakker is still hopeful things will change, "The door is not closed and in that way I am also still hopeful that guys like J. Lloyd Samuel, Bobby Zamora and possibly Justin Hoyte will be available."
"As you know they were already involved in England teams and Fifa regulations don't permit them for the moment to play for Trinidad and Tobago."

Hopefully FIFA Vice President, Austin Jack Warner can work another miracle and have those regulations rescinded because the aforementioned three players would considerably strengthen the squad.

Trinidad and Tobago win the Carib Beer cricket Cup

2006-02-07T10:10:00.000-04:00

Trinidad and Tobago won the 2006 Carib Beer Cup with a comprehensive victory over Barbados last weekend. It was the first regional title for the Trinidadians since 1985 when they won the old Shield under the captaincy of Rangie Nanan.
The Trinidad and Tobago team now wait for the semi-finals of the extended tournament after the West Indies tour to New Zealand.

I was not in Barbados for the coup de grace but here are some photographs of Trinidad and Tobago's cricketers at a recent match played at The University of the West Indies ground at St. Augustine.

Read more on Trinidad and Tobago's victory in the Trinidad Express Newspaper

The Blimp, Trinidad and Tobago's answer to crime

2006-01-18T14:30:00.000-04:00

Already, the murder count stands at 24 for 2006 in Trinidad and Tobago. Whilst Digicel and TSTT battle for the cellular phone market and Island Events and Randy Glasgow battle for the dollars of Trinidad's yuppie generation, murderers are doing what they do best.
The blimp or airship remains a means of folly for Trinidadians upset with the rising crime situation but many are yet to have seen it....well I was relaxing recently as the blimp flew by and too a picture.

Click on the Blimp for an ultra large resolution photo

British Foreign Office updates travel advisory for Tobago

2006-01-17T11:39:00.000-04:00

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated its travel advisory to British citizens and residents visiting Tobago.

The advisory warns Britons that "serious robberies against tourists...accompanied by violence, including rape" have increased in 2004 and 2005. Specifically targeting the popular Englishman's Bay, the Foreign Office begs that "extreme caution is exercised when visiting remote beach areas without organised tour groups" as there have been armed robberies in Englishman's Bay, the latest occurence in Decemeber 2005.

In the past these advisories were cause for concern in Trinidad and Tobago with accusations of hypocrisy towards Great Britain whose nation is far from safe given the increase in hate crime and terrorism. However, the advisories are now largely ignored as they appear to have little or no effect on the number of European visitors to Tobago.

Tourism Minister Howard Chin-Lee recently announced record levels of visitors for 2004-2005 and expects even greater totals for the next five years.

Google mail Gmail invites and news on the Kanye West Photos

2006-01-17T10:15:00.000-04:00

I just checked my Google mail account and realised I have one hundred G-MAIL invites!
If there is anyone from Trinidad and Tobago or any other nation who wants a G-mail invite please let me know by posting a comment.

I know I promised my opinion on the Jack Warner media briefing but I am not yet half-complete. Suffice to say I do not agree with the Power 102 FM defamation of Lasana Liburd or their interpretation of the conference as a masterpiece.

Roberts says not one point Liburd made survived the news conference well I can list many; among them Warner confirmed his buying of the television rights for the princely and miserly sum of $1. It might be a TT dollar, Jesus Christ!

I ought to end here.
Laterz.
Oh, the Kanye West pictures will be uploaded soon enough. I suppose Triniscene has already posted theirs but you know mine are higher resolution and rawer, so bookmark me and return.

80 yr old British grandmother raped in Tobago

2006-01-16T12:30:00.000-04:00

Tobago police are investigating the rape and buggery of an 80 yr old British woman at Carnbee. The incident occured just six hours after three British Golfers and a night watchman were beaten and robbed at a Pinehurst villa.

The woman gave a statement that she was confronted by a bandit at approximately 3:30 am after hearing noises downstairs. The man robbed her of $200, ordered her to strip then raped and buggered her.

The incident is yet another attack on foreign nationals that have cast a cloud of shame over the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Four charged in cutlass attack on British nationals

2006-01-16T12:23:00.000-04:00

Four men appeared before Scarborough magistrate Mc Kenzie charged with grevious bodily assault against three aged British Nationals.
The British citizens, Mike Jones 69, a golf course builder of Sussex; Chris Stokes 67, a dentist and world authority on root canal of Hampshire; and Stuart Anderson 70, retired secretary of the Kent County Cricket Club of Kent were participants in the Tobago Pro-Am Golf tournament at Mt. Irvine Golf Course.

The group came to the rescue of the night-watchman at their villa on Pinehurst drive who was attacked by bandits, but were themselves beaten.

Carnival Chairman denies Digicel sponsorship

2006-01-16T11:31:00.000-04:00

Digicel, the Irish owned tele-communications giant continues to shoot itself in the foot. The latest faux pas being Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Brewer's false declaration of successfully negotiating sponsorship of a number of Carnival events.

Already burdened by the negative publicity of their sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team and the fallout therefrom, Digicel's marketing strategy continues to baffle. Their local advertisement campaign has been nauseous and foppish, comparing unfavourably to that of TSTT (Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago).

Chairman of NCC, Kenny de Silva immediately denied the CEO's quoted pronouncement clarifying as "premature" any statement that Digicel has secured exclusive rights for Calypso Fiesta (the national calypso semi-final) or the Road March competition. "The statement attributed to Mr Brewer came as quite a surprise to the NCC (National Carnival Commission)," de Silva said.

Mr de Silva revealed the Carnival body has "held talks with a number of potential sponsors and Digicel was among those bidding for particular contracts."
Mobile technology rival TSTT is already a sponsor of the International Soca Monarch and Groovy Soca Monarch competitions and is supplying telecommunication solutions to the NCC for Carnival. The latter is not surprising as Digicel, through no fault of theirs are not able to begin communications services until April this year -two months after Carnival.

To date Digicel's sole success is a promotional contract with leading soca singer Destra Garcia. but her ability to move mobile phones off the shelves is still to be tested.

Energy Minister on corruption charges has bail increased

2006-01-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

Magistrate Lee-Kim upped bail to TT$600000 today with regard to seven charges of corruption against Energy Minister Eric Williams.
This weekend Justice of the Peace Ackbar Khan had revealed to the news media that bail was set at TT$350000.

Minister Williams has continued to deny all charges and says he will seek solace in God, but activist Gary Aboud of FFOS (Fishermen and Friends of the Sea) says the charges against the Minister are an embarrassment to the Nation.
Speaking on Power102 FM this afternoon on its drive-by show, Aboud said it was scandalous and embarrassing that the Minister involved in negotiating lucrative international contracts for the country's most important sector should be charged for corruption.

Jack Warner Lasana Liburd and World Cup tickets

2006-01-03T20:33:00.000-04:00

Jack Warner says he considered and declined legal action in his flamboyant and theatrical press conference today but as someone very familiar with legal action, if you threaten it you have no case.
For all his semantics and linguistic gymnastics the bottomline still shakes unsteady under his feet.

Eventually I'll get to the news conference and the accusations and allegations but what concerns me this evening is Anil Roberts' role in this journalistic fiasco.
There he was, at the media conference giving aid and comfort to the FIFA Vice President. I am not aware of his role but I assume it was as a part-time journalist.
If so, what the hell was he doing?

Roberts threw statements at Warner to complete, asked leading questions to prompt the Vice President, and engaged, or rather conferred ridicule on a practicing journalist.

Not content with that he hastened to the Power102 FM studios to add more contempt and scorn to the Express writer, but, with the willing participation of Sprangalang and the increasingly foolish, Chris.

Why I ask myself?
Is a trip to Germany the prize for Roberts?
I doubt it, this is a chap who can afford the month long trek and even if he could not, is so well connected sponsors would queue to send him there. Not only that he is well traveled as a coach so a trip to Germany is no feather in his cap.

No readers, it appears Roberts behave this way because Roberts loves the spotlight. No fault in that, but is really necessary to cast a shadow on others to hog the limelight?
Laterz. Tomorrow I will examine Warner's performance.

Kanye West in Trinidad photos

2005-12-28T12:23:00.000-04:00

Many of you are here for photos of Kanye West's performance in Trinidad well have no fear, yuh boy was there and I'll upload the pictures soon enough.
Bookmark me and have patience.

TSTT Motorola Razr V3 review and rating

2005-12-22T23:18:00.000-04:00

Last month, had anyone asked me 'from whom are you buying a new cellular phone?'; I would have answered 'either Laqtel or Digicel, but Digicel is the more likely.'
Today, I would answer 'neither TSTT nor Digicel!'

Digicel is aggravating me with their learnt-from-a-book marketing strategy and policy. It's all theoretical and impractical.
Why are they reluctant to publicize the mobile units they will offer in 2006? Particularly in a small market where the main competitor has stolen a march on you. Is it not commonsense that their advertisement advising consumers to wait 'til January would have more force if one were aware that similar or better phones are on the horizon?

What's the secret? Digicel aren't making super-cellulars in a Port-of-Spain lab!?
More than likely the mobile phones they sell will echo that of the competitors'.

This silence for silence sake is annoying, but not surprising, as Digicel's ad campaign is pointless, untargeted, and verbose. It just is not working!
Digicel should fire their ad agency.

Anyway, I have a review for you of the Motorola Razr V3 that everyone and their tanty are fussing over.

Introduction:
The Motorola may be new to most local users, but this unit was launched and available for sale -internationally- in Oct 2004. This is not a technological gift to Trinidad and Tobago citizens.
At the time it retailed for US450 but it's being shopped to us at around US300; a considerable departure from it's initial RP (retail price).
To someone as myself (unfussed over this cellphone business) it does not have any immediate impact, visually. But, I tested its appeal to the young trendsetters and they were blown away.

Design:
I used a black version for my test and the colour is far from rich, but it's a cellphone so any shade of black (if that exists) is important.
The Razr VE measures 3.8 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches and weighs less than a quarter of one pound.

It is wider than many flip-phones but seats comfortably in the pocket -important to me because I detest those mooks with phones on the side of their trousers or skirts- and it has a uselessly light feel in your hand. 'Yuh cah lick down any mango wit dis phone.'
Importantly, the hinge that facilitates the 'flip' is sturdy and should be able to support thousands of 'flips-up' before you have to queue for forty days and nights to have it serviced/replaced by an TSTT overpaid technician.

There is an external display at the front that reminds older users of those notebook stickers with the chameleon LCD effect. I did not describe that particularly well but if you are over 30 you'd understand. On this display one can view information as TIME, BATTERY LIFE, and SIGNAL STRENGTH.
The display also acts as a viewer -when the clip is closed- for the camera lens (situated above the screen, almost un-noticeable). There is this cool -for two or three minutes- effect using the external display where you can turn the camera 360 degrees and it 'right-sides' the image it is displaying.

A voice recorder button is at the phone's right-side, with controls for the camera and volume on the left. It does not take much practice to manipulate them by feel, only.

Flip-up the phone and you see a really ugly bottom panel for dialing and whatnot. I was not impressed visually, but it is sturdy. The top-panel, naturally, is the screen; and it is a beautiful 2.5 inches, 256000 color display. Large enough to view, record, and playback images and video.
Navigation by feel takes some time getting used-to, but nothing is stopping you from looking at the keys. What's your hurry?

Bells, whistles, bonuses and features:
The Motorola can store 1250 names -250 on the SIM card- with accompanying phone-numbers (asmany as six) and an email address. There is support for POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 -in other words EMAIL, for the illiterates.

A standard USB port sits at the side, and judging by it's shape can be easily replaced at any RadioShack -if it ever came to that-. The usual features; vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, speakerphone, calculator, alarm clock, are present.
Other features include MP3 support, Bluetooth connectivity, and AOL Instant Messenger (hmmmn).

And of course, a camera. A beautiful VGA Camera supporting three resolutions:
160 x 120 and 320 x 240 for email and wallpaper
640 x 480 for everything else.

There is a 4x zoom! That's the same as my Nikon, wtf? But, just 6MB of memory; not enough in my opinion, but for fucks sake its a cellphone, so you should feel satisfied. Also included is one J2ME (JAVA) game and a slide show to view your pictures. It goes without saying you can personalise your camera-phone with wallpapers, sounds, ringtones, etc.

The basics:
Usually when one buys a phone, the most important aspects are making/ receiving phone calls and volume.
In Trinidad and Tobago it is near impossible to tell if any problem with the former is a problem with the phone or the Telecommunications company, but all phone numbers dialed were answered (that's the best I can do).
However, I thought the volume, both naturally and with the speakerphone, needs to be more audible.
The battery-life is an acceptable 7 hours.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Fen Phen or Ramdhanie: The state of incompetent attorneys-at-law in Trinidad & Tobago

2005-12-20T20:56:00.000-04:00

Question: How incompetent are Trinidad and Tobago Attorneys-at-law and Judges? Permit me to re-phrase.
How incompetent are attorneys and Judges practising in the Trinidad and Tobago courts?
Answer: Very!

Year after embarrassing year the Public are witness to one disgusting verdict after another.

In The State vs Mouttet the defendant admitted to social use of a narcotic, namely cannabis, and casually informed the Court that 'meh wife always told me one day ah woulda get ketch'. But Mouttet is a millionaire many times over so learned Judge decided, in his wisdom, that his value to society as an employer mitigated against a custodial sentence.
I wager he is no longer rolling the chronic because we all know how simple it is to go cold-turkey. Ent?
Steupssssss.

And of course there was 'The State vs Brad Boyce(1997)' wherein the defendant 'won' a not guilty verdict on the instruction of Justice Herbet Volney because the evidence of the forensic pathologist was entirely unreliable.
Unreliable because the pathologist, Hughvon DesVignes, had not the right to pass himself as a forensic pathologist.
Oddly the Judge's opinion on this, lasted all of one matter because Dr Des Vignes is now a recognised and accredited forensic pathologist.
Brad Boyce, last I heard, was earning foreign currency on an oil rig.
Steupsss.

There are many more, but the most recent is 'The State vs Deochan Ramdhanie, Mantoor Ramdhanie, Patrick Toolsie and Ken Gresham'.
I have read and heard various commentary damning the decision by the Privy Council Lords to free the accused but anyone who read their considered judgement would be mad to disagree with its content and verdict.
Simply put, Karl Hudson-Phillips QC fucked up, embarrassingly, and incompetently.
He gave testimony, alluded to evidence not put in, and belittled opposing counsel. How can an attorney of great appreciation and esteem be so reckless and amateurish to act with such contumely and arrogance in a Court of Law.

In my opinion, the Law Lords were kind to Queens Counsel, for he was deserving of censure fitted to his reprobate behaviour.

The Judge, now Appeal Court Justice Stanley John, added weight to the tilt in favour of the accused when he failed in his duty to install mitigating evidence of character. A flaw one cannot easily excuse. Sadly he is not alone, as this was a point of law cited as breached in the case of The State vs Jagdeo Singh.

At the end of the day, Karl Hudson-Phillips incompetence and arrogance has cost the State millions of dollars. Perhaps as many as ten million dollars.
Thankfully, and I say that with no remorse, Mantoor Ramdhanie died in prison. A deserving punsihment for the cocaine trafficker.

Unfortunately, the son of a cocaine trafficker Deochan Ramdhanie, the nephew of a cocaine trafficker Patrick Toolsie, and the neighbour of a cocaine trafficker Ken Gresham live on to enjoy the fruits -or is it the chopra- of their labour.
The State has already moved to 'unfreeze' their accounts which hold over 7million dollars. The State is also responsible for costs and therefore owe the legal counsel of these scum, millions of dollars.

But that's what you get when you rely on incompetent fuckers as Karl Hudson-Phillips, Stanley John, and the troika of unintelligent Appeal Court Justices who heard the matter. Just another day in the tropics.

Thank God we do not have class action law suits for Asbestos, Mesothelioma or Fen Phen because the Treasury would go bust.

Kanye West and Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley to perform live in Trinidad

2005-12-16T12:50:00.000-04:00

You have seen the ads, TSTT (Telecommunication disService to Trinidad & Tobago) has contracted Kanye West to perform his full concert repertoire.
He is the headline act for TSTT's b-mobile Unbeatable Concert, scheduled for December 22nd. But this is TSTT, do not be surprised if the concert is postponed because of excessive network traffic.

If the Concert comes off, I do hope TSTT officials and Unbeatable Concert promoters advise Kanye West that Trinidad and Tobago's party-goers are an odd sort. They do not bow at the feet of International superstars; in this country Kanye West is just another bloke with a few good songs.
Remember Busta Rhymes, he was booed off the stage when he thought his reputation was good enough to mail-in a performance. However, local fans should swamp the venue, if only to have the opportunity to win one of 10 Razor mobile phones earmarked for un-LUCKY ticket buyers.

I hope you got the Razor and earmarked pun/joke.

In other news Damien 'Jr.Gong' Marley will perform on January 7 at the National Stadium in the newly created Soca Broadway.
Jr.Gong has followed the likes of father Bob Marley, Shabba Ranks, and lately, Sean Paul; in successfully 'crossing-over' to the Pop market. The hit song 'Welcome to JamRock' was the door-opening smash that pushed sales of the similarly0titled album past the million sales level.

An excerpt from his interview in the January 2006 Edition of Vibe:
Vibe: what do you wish was different about the US Government?
Damian Marley: The New Orleans event! They should have gotten more National support

Vibe: any songs you wish you had written or produced this year?
Damian Marley: Yeah, 'Hate it or Love it'

Vibe: by The Game and 50 Cent?
Damian Marley: Yeah!

Vibe: any songs you wish you'd heard the remix to this year?
Damian Marley: 'Welcome to Jamrock' I would really like to have a remix of that.

Vibe: Whow ould you like to have on that remix with you?
Damian Marley: Jay-Z probably

Vibe: Is there any celebrity or producer that you wish you could have worked with?
Damian Marley: Kanye West. I would love to do something with him and I would love to do something with DJ Premiere

Vibe: What is the one thing or one person that made the biggest impact on your life this year?
Damian Marley: The Public, the fans, you know what I mean? They support me. They actually supported my career this year, which was a really big year for me. So, there is no one person; because I have everyone who is out there.

Vibe: What artiste were you hoping would have a comeback this year?
Damian Marley: SuperCat

Vibe: Talking about Hot songs, which song aside from 'Welcome to JamRock' you wish got radio play this year?
Damian Marley: 'Road to Zion'

Vibe: If you were granted one wish for 2005, what would you wish for?
Damian Marley: I wish there was less murder in Jamaica this year.

Anil Roberts, relax nah boy

2005-12-15T19:50:00.000-04:00

Funny how people change.
Anil Roberts whose excellence as a swimming coach and media pundit won him rave reviews and massive popularity has devolved to an ego-maniacal media tyrant.
Today, listening to Power102FM, I heard the self-absorbed media personality rant and rave because a caller, popularly known as Mr.Cocorite asked a question that contained an innuendo only Roberts was aware of.

Suddenly he (Roberts) was vexed by an assertion -that was never made- that he and/or his swim-club illegally removed sand from the Powder Magazine 'mountains' to construct their quarters.
Anil, take a bweath, a sniffy-sniff, and a smelly-smell.

Boy, you have become much too thin-skinned, and this loudmouth threat of yours that you possess information of corruption in the highest offices are as credible as your allegations against Digicel.
Just relax my friend, you were doing fine 'til you believed your own press.
As you would advise your charges, forget the gallery and get back to the basics.

Laqtel signs agreement with TSTT

2005-12-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

CEOs Michael Barrow and Carlos Espinal of Laqtel and TSTT respectively, signed an agreement for telecommunications tower-sharing yesterday at TSTT House in Port-of-Spain.
The first I heard of this was watching Gayelle Television on Monday morning when Lisa Agard -legal something or the other- announced it boldly and proudly, as if...
Now, Lisa Agard is a fine looking woman on most days and she really pulled out all the stops on Monday. Unfortunately she stopped short of looking good.
Really unfortunate that a woman who would surely turn your head in a jeans and a tank-top, would make you turn away in attire ten times the cost.
.
Agard bespoiled herself in a jacket that seemed more appropriate for the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts band, and a hairstyle inspired by Farrah Fawcett's in Charlie's Angels. 'Twas really unfortunate, because, and it's worth repeating, Agard is an attractive woman.
Lisa, darling, keep it simple please. A conservative business suit and a modest hairstyle would have served you infinitely better.

Mrs Agard (I assume she's married because well-to-do women often are) shared her Gayelle appearance with Marcia Henville (host) and a chap (Steven something I think) from Digicel.
I simply have to say this...when Marcia Henville makes you look cosquelle, you really have a problem. That's how awful Agard dressed.
Marcia looked really beautiful and her hair was appropriately understated, keep it up Marcia.

Anyway, before I become lost in Star Jones type commentary, let's return to something of substance.

The meeting between the Digicel gaffer and the TSTT legal spokeswoman promised much -in theory- but offered nothing in substance. It was all petty as Agard sought to make the few points she could (Digicel too, offer medium-term contracts) and deflect the criticisms she can (Digicel had not responded to their offer of tower-sharing).
Steven, or is it Stephen, came off as arrogant and persnickety; often mentioning he receives phone calls from the line Minister, Saith; yet bitching over his non-receipt of written documentation from TSTT on tower-sharing.
Could you not have called Steven...Stephen!

So fucking petty. You really wonder how clueless, self-absorbed twats as Agard and this Digicel clown scale the corporate ladder and shit down on us.
Which reminds me; I remitted an email to Digicel asking of them to provide me the models of mobile phones they intend to offer to the Trinidad public and thus far, I have received not word.
Not good!

I was mildly surprised 'til I saw Marcia ask Stephen a simple question with regard to their contract offers and deals, and he declined to answer. It appears Digicel's corporate policy is to say nothing unless and until they absolutely have to.
The CEO, or whatever Steven is, said it would be a self-inflicted wound to disseminate such information.
Wtf?
No, let me spell it out.
What the fuck?

No Stephen, that fuckry does not wash, there were many means and methods you could have employed to facilitate Marcia on that question. And if you are so afraid of self-inflicted wounds you should heal yourself of those awful advertisements. As I have written in the past, Digicel should fire their advertising house.

Well, now we know with whom we deal, and the choices are:
TSTT - abusers of the public who seek to convince us they have changed for the better
Digicel - the most non-savvy corporate entity in Trinidad and Tobago
Laqtel - PNM corbeaux masquerading as a mobile communications alternative

Friends, countrymen, dire days are ahead!

Five minutes ago I signed up for NewsNow on the recommendation of a fellow blogger, hopefully it helps me to be as famous as Racquel Pacheco without the whole sleeping with men thing!

Trinidad and Tobago news, World Cup, Gillian Lucky, Jenna-Marie Andre, and Franklin Khan

2005-12-10T16:12:00.000-04:00

The big story in Trinidad and Tobago is the nations placing in World Cup Group B with top seed England, Paraguay, and Sweden.
All the players are pleased with the draw as many of them play for English League Clubs, none more so than England-born centre midfielder, Chris Burchall.
Burchall, who plays for English Championship team Port Vale, says "it is the best possible group for us(oh really?). No one knew anything about us before the draw for the qualifying group (come now Chris, it's not that bad), but we caused a few upsets and we beat Mexico (an understrength Mexico) when they put out a full-strength side (err, NO!)."

I do not expect us to qualify for the second round despite Fifa Vice President, Austin 'Jack' Warner's prediction that "we will be in the second round..."
Fact is, if we get a point from this Group we would have done well.
This is not pessimism, we simply -to the point of writing- do not have the personnel to compete with England (WC 2002 quarterfinalists, Beckham, Rooney, Gerard, Owen et al), Sweden (perennial qualifiers, Larsson, Ljungberg, Zlatan), or Paraguay.

Who knows, maybe players will be unearthed in the next couple of months and inspire more realistic confidence.

Next up in the news is Opposition Member of Parliament, Gillian Lucky's decision to defend, in a Court of Law, ex-PNM Chairman and Member for Parliament for Mayaro, Franklin Khan.
That's odd in itself, odder, when you become aware than Franklin Khan is a member of the ruling party which Ms Lucky opposes.

I have always voted for the People's National Movement, but even I, find this hard to take.
Gillian Lucky is in Parliament under tenuously ethical circumstances. She was elected on a UNC ticket and now, having disagreed and departed from the UNC, has rebranded herself an Independent and acts accordingly.
In the United States or Great Britain, that would be alright, but this is Trinidad and Tobago. Very few people are elected on their own political strength, and the political graveyard is populated with all those who dared to think otherwise.
She should resign her seat in Parliament and run as an Independent, of course she would lose, which makes it even more vehemently disgusting that she is defending Franklin Khan on a charge of CORRUPTION!

It hardly concerns anyone that she is an attorney, or she did not hire herself, it just seems putrid to me. It simply should not be. But, I am no legal ethicist so it will play itself out and we will forget about this in the next few weeks.

The usual kidnappings, murders and strikes all have shameful pride of place in the News, but I will end with Ms World contestant Jenna-Marie Andre.
Trinidad and Tobago's delegate takes the stage tonight in the Ms World pageant, and as has been the case for every young lady representing our Nation, she has a damn good chance.
We have it like that, for some reason (ignoring the obvious I am) we are always among the favourites and this year I expect her to do really well.
Good Luck Jenna-Marie, good-luck in advance, Soca Warriors.

Newsday advertising

2005-12-09T10:10:00.001-04:00

So you decided to read Pt2, well good on ya, I appreciate your readership. But if you came here unexpectedly, click the advertisement critic for Pt1 of my Newsday ads review.

Page 27 is a full-page Fresh Express advertisement. Fresh Express is the latest kid on the sub-sandwich market and they have innovatively utilised gas station mini-markets, drugs stores, and bona fide supermarkets to sell their sandwiches.
That's clever, because fighting the big-boys , Subway and Blimpies, in a traditional retail outlet would have failed. This way they get their product in many locations and build their market before they inevitably go the way of adding specific Fresh Express outlets.

The ads however, are not as innovative, featuring a fat-ish boy holding a sub with some sort of fish-eye effect to make both he and the sandwich appear larger than life. Uhhh, no!
It is not effective, but, the slogan 'this is how we eat out in South', is.
The use of the San Fernando Hill is so, so, so what is the point, that it 'uglifies' the ad
Rating: 4 blinks

Westport always struck me as a company with a lot of self-belief, and Page 29's ad is true to form. The ad is for their Vogue Addiction Collection and they probably thought it was a good idea to create a Vogue-type ad.
Wrong! It is boring and pretentious -this from a man who uses blinks to rate-, and worse yet they use a profile shot of a young lady who does not have a very appealing profile.
She is certainly good-looking, but this is definitely not her best angle.
Rating : 4 blinks

A turn of the page uncovers a Grand Bazaar/Ford Focus ad that does nothing but remind you Grand Bazaar has a supermarket. Catwalk showcases another of their straight-out-of-Macy's advertisements.
Next comes the National Lottery Control Board's dumb wishbone ad.
Detour's ad is on page2 of Section B. Uh, ah, yeah, it is on page 2 of Section B.

Jeez, there are a lot of ads in Friday's newspaper.
Let's skip over Courts', Singers', Kirvek's (who?), the PNM's, and RadioShack's ads to page 40 of Section A.
Where we countenance yet another info-advertisement by Digicel.
Really, wtf?
I am not going to read this stupid ad because whatever information contained therein is of no relevance or is already known to me.
Digicel marketing department, please, listen to me; 'no one reads these stupid ads!'

Ahhhh, but I read TSTT's Network Interference headed info-statement (page52) that alleges Digicel's responsibility for the problems experienced by some of their clientèle. They also reveal a complaint was lodged with the Telecommunications Authority on the matter. Further, a request to Digicel was actioned, presumably asking them to stop their insensitive actions.
Oh behave!
TSTT, go to hell. No one cares about your sad little allegations.

Finally, we end with Carib Brewery's ad, a tribute of sort to the Soca Warriors. The idea is good, using footballs as bubbly beer froth, but alas, the execution is mediocre.
So sad.
Even sadder is the slogan-statement 'Drink Carib beer...support'.
Support what? The Soca Warriors?
We should support the National team by consuming alcohol?
Could they have not said this a better way. They are driving me to sobriety...

Newsday advertisements critic

2005-12-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

Have you ever taken a critical eye to newspaper advertisements?
I have, today actually, as I perused my Newsday of Friday December 9th.

Page 2 is a full page ad for RBTT Bank encouraging account holders to use their RBTT credit-card for Christmas purchasing. The tag-line is 'The Rewards of Giving'.
This advertisement is a decent marketing image featuring a beautiful brown complexioned young lady. She looks late teens or early twenties and has her hair in the hair-dressed fake natural look that is now prevalent. I like the fact that this girl is not the usual red-woman/white-woman combination most advertising houses in this country opt for.
Rating: 6 blinks

Page 6 is another full-page ad. The advertiser here is TSTT for their b-mobile campaign. I have to admit, TSTT has done a very good job with their b-mobile campaign. They would have been simpletons to not run a successful campaign because b-mobile campaigns have already littered much of the Caribbean archipelago. There is a lot for TSTT to copy and learn from.

Nevertheless, this ad utilises the traditional -and safe- Christmas colours of red and green. Also commonplace is the use of local celebrities and TSTT have commissioned soca stars Machel Montano and Shurwayne Winchester, and media darling Anil Roberts.
The ad has a lot of information but does not overwhelm the viewer/reader, and importantly, the terms and conditions are clearly discernible for those with eyes to see.
I am no fan of TSTT but the blame attached to them -re inducing customers to sign unfairly- is unjustified.
Rating: 7 blinks

The venerable Pennywise Cosmetics invades page 17 with pink -lots of it- and purple. This is not a very good ad.
Pennywise is enormously popular but they are not known as a place to purchase Christmas gifts. This ad featuring photos of hair-dryers is their attempt to suck-in the gift-buying public. I doubt it will have an effect.
Unrelated to the effectiveness of the ad, I must confess to being put-off by the 'God is love' sloganeering. Pennywise already bombards you -admittedly you do not have to shop there- with Sai Baba imagery and photos; now they have this in their ads?
Odd, very odd.
Rating: 3 blinks

Page 21 is yet another, boring, marginally effective, full-page ad from Digicel. Frankly, Digicel's ads are poor.
If this is the best a global giant can muster, I am very concerned.
The one thing pleasing about this ad is the body -read hips and ass- of Nicole Phipps, Digicel Trinidad's marketing Director. The ring on her right-hand looks a bit cheap though, but it fits right in with the inexpensive look of the ad.
What's with all the writing? Maybe it was useful at the beginning, but change it already.
Which local dimwitted company is responsible for these bads, I mean ads?
Rating: 2 blinks.

Page 23 is a good page for Micles. The top left-hand corner shows a hilarious photo of former Ms World, now Angostura PRO, Gisele La Ronde being molested by a group of enthusiastic children at the Angostura Children's Christmas party. That picture will halt any reader's intention to turn the page and the resulting pause will focus attention on the outstanding Micles ad.
I can never tire of those ads because the models are outstandingly attractive, and for two of them, outrageously sexy. My two favourites are Louanna Laurie, the hot-bod in the yellow tank-top and denim skirt; and whomever that girl is in the sky-blue shirt and denim skirt.
I love the Micles ads.
Rating: 7 blinks

You should be pretty eye-weary reading this, so, in your interest I'll end this as Pt1 and if and when you are prepared to read my opinion of more ads in the Newsday you may click........the advertisement critic.

Nokia N90 not in stock

2005-12-08T17:34:00.000-04:00

If you received the B-mobile info-magazine within your Trinidad and Tobago daily newspaper of choice you would have noticed one or two high-market cellular phones.
Among them is the Nokia N90, introduced in April 2005.

The Nokia N90 retails for US700 in North America and I estimate -given the greed of legal black-marketers (TSTT)- it will be offered locally for >US1000.
Not a problem though, if a consumer wants to pay way past a reasonable mark-up price, that is his right.

Sources tell me the Nokia N90 was exclusively sold at Ritz Camera as a means of highlighting its advanced digital photographic capabilities. The Nokia N90 has a 2MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics and the usual accoutrements of auto-focus, integrated flash and editing capabilities.
It is indeed the usual accoutrements except it is better.
Anyway I digress.

The problem is TSTT may not have these phones in stock. I say (speculate?) so because of my knowledge that those (North Americans) who pre-ordered abroad have not received their cellular phones.
It remains the case despite Ritz Camera losing their exclusive contract on December 1st.
Neiman Marcus and CompUSA are now retail partners.

TSTT has to level with this country and explain why they are advertising phones they do not have in stock and are unlikely to receive for many many months.
And that's just the first of many questions we have for our Trinidad and Tobago Telecommunications monopoly.

The Narayansingh trials and Judge Volney

2005-12-07T10:52:00.000-04:00

Why is it so difficult for those in authority to speak their minds?
Just once I'd love to hear an individual with a position of import speak his mind and not cloak his language in robes of prose.

For those ignorant of the proceedings, Dr Narayansingh a prominent surgeon both locally and regionally -perhaps Internationally-, lost his wife to a gunman's bullet a few years ago. Subsequently the police detained, arrested, and charged Shawn Parris for the murder.
Parris confessed and a deal was struck between his defence attorneys and the Director of Public Prosecution for the murderer to testify against his hirers. The theory here being, the hirers are just as culpable as the trigger-man and if one has to sleep with the devil to cut his throat then so be it.

Sounds reasonable, ent?

Not to the sitting Justice, Mr Volney.
Now Mr Volney is already seized of dubious reputation in the eyes of the Public. The learned Justice was the adjudicating authority in the 'infamous' Brad Boyce matter.
Infamous because those were the very words used to tarnish the State's forensic expert and in so doing led to the Justice advising the jury to declare a not guilty verdict.
The forensic expert, whose name now escapes me was charged with infamous conduct, words used in the Medical Act to describe unbecoming and fraudulent conduct of a Medical Officer.

But I digress.
Justice Volney rejected the deal agreed to and sentenced Parris to much more than he bargained for.
Nevertheless the State initiated proceedings against the goodly Doctor, his wife, and an alleged accomplice, with Parris as the main witness.

The State failed in it's attempt to bring Dr Narayansingh's matter to trial when Senior Magistrate Wellington upheld a no case submission.
Is is noteworthy that Queen's Counsel Karl Hudson-Phillips opined the DPP's attempt to prosecute the Doctor as one of the worst cases of prosecuting malice he has ever seen in umpteen years.

Magistrate Wellington however saw prima facie evidence worthy of committing Mrs Narayansingh and the alleged accomplice to trial.

Now that the State is ready to proceed Mr. Volney is once again a main character on the stage. The Justice will see to the matter even in the face of a missive directing the Director of Public Prosecutions misgvings to his appointment.

Mind you, there is nothing in law that debars Justice Volney from hearing the matter, but there is certainly a lot in ethics and decency that demands his recusal.
It begs the question therefore, why is the perspicacious Justice so determined to be responsible for this matter?
Is there no other Justice capable of seeing to this case?
Are we undermining the capabilities of the sitting Magistrate for the San Fernando Court?
Why is the Chief Justice entering the debate with a clear disposition and bias to Mr Volney?

Now, I am not saying there is conspiracy afoot, or the Justices are mixing malicho, but surely if ever Justice must be seen to be done this is the case to use as a flag-bearer.

Justice Volney must recuse himself from the matter!

Chief Justice Sharma must desist from public comments on the matter if only because he is already entangled in its web as we well know!

And finally, the DPP, Mr Henderson must find the courage from anywhere he can, to address the matter not by dictated missives but by verbal missiles. The Director of Public Prosecution must face the media and present his argument to the Public because at the end of the day we pay his salary, Volney's salary, and The Chief Justice's. Much as they like to deny it, we are the lot to whom they are accountable and I for one am sick of their back-room dealings and half-truths.

It is either justice for all; or none.

Trinidad East Indian women playing mas

2005-12-07T10:42:00.000-04:00

What more to be said!
Trinidad and Tobago's population is made up of many ethnicities but the majority -surprising to many- is East Indian. The East Indian women have a reputation of being demure and docile, but that is not the reputation of the Trinidadian East Indian woman.

Looks like Trini East Indian girls love a lot of gold!

Seriously though, there has been a sharp increase in inter-racial relationships among East Indian women in Trinidad and Tobago. We have always seen the dougla offspring of Indo and Afro-Trini pairings, but, now we are seeing mixed relationships featuring Chinese and other nationalities.
The more East indian women integrate into the workplace and party circuits the more of these types of relationships we are likely to see.

Trinidad and Tobago World Cup grouping

2005-12-06T11:27:00.000-04:00

The seeding for the World Cup 2006 in Germany were drawn today

The seeded nations were placed in Pot 1 and they are as follows
Germany
Brazil
Argentina
England
France
Italy
Mexico
Spain

Pot 2
Australia
Angola
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Togo
Tunisia
Ecuador
Paraguay

Pot 3
Croatia
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine

Trinidad and Tobago's team, the Soca Warriors is in Pot 4
Iran
Japan
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Costa Rica
Trinidad & Tobago
United States
Serbia & Montenegro

The worst case scenario for the Soca Warriors is a World Cup group consisting of Brazil, Paraguay, and the Netherlands.

The best Soca Warriors fans can hope for is a group with Mexico (because we have had experience playing them, Togo, and Switzerland.

Top selling cellular phones in Trinidad and Tobago

2005-12-05T23:20:00.000-04:00

According to triniphones.com, the mobile phones most likely purchased by cellular users in Trinidad and Tobago are:

1)Siemens SF65
2)Nokia 6030
3)Sony Ericcson J300i
4)Sony Ericcson P910i
5)Nokia 6230i

The phones most requested by Trinidad and Tobago socialite mobile phone users are:

1)Nokia N90
2)Nokia N70
3)Nokia 7710
4)Sony Ericcson W800i
5)Motorola ROKR

Tomorrow I'll report exclusively why you are unlikely to ever purchase the Nokia N70 before the middle of 2006.

b-mobile stupidity

2005-12-05T13:10:00.000-04:00

I want a mobile phone just as everyone else, but I will never buy a phone from Trinidad and Tobago Telecommunication Services unless and until I have seen all on offer from Digicel and Laqtel.

I have waited seven years, so seven more months is no big deal.

Today I wrote to Digicel bigwig Maureen Rabbitt asking for information on the cellular phones they will offer the public, because TSTT packed my daily newspaper with a glossy info-magazine offering their lot.
Oh how times have changed!

The infamous national telephone company are offering a wide range of communication instruments, including the Nokia mobile systems:
Nokia 3120, Nokia 1600, Nokia 1110, and the beautiful Nokia N90 and Nokia 9300

and Sony systems
Sony Ericsson K300 and Sony Ericsson W600
The Sony Ericssons come with MP3 players, built-in-cameras and Java capabilities.

And of course the Motorolas are also in evidence:
Motorola V55, Razr Motorola, and the Motorola V171.

There is one Samsung model, the Samsung X486

TSTT are certainly selling quality mobile handsets, and the crowds are flocking to their mobile partners stores to purchase at the discounted prices.
I know, because at Trincity Mall, earlier today, I was nearly knocked over by an enthusiastic would-be cellular owner.
I would not call them stupid because everyone has his own motivation, but I really wish my fellow citizens would be patient that they can compare to the competition's offerings.

Hopefully Digicel will reply today and I can update the readers with their stock of mobile goodies.
Laterz!

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

2005-12-02T15:45:00.000-04:00

Now that we have been whitewashed by the Australians questions of the Coach and the Captain must be asked. I am old enough to remember the days when a whitewash (for any team) was a rare thing in Test cricket, so, the fact that the West Indies team has suffered multiple 'whitewashes' in the last ten years is more than embarrassing.

But, I do not believe Shivnarine Chanderpaul is to blame.
The fact is Lara was a poor Captain, in both results and tactical performance. There is no evidence to prove or suggest that the present team would fare any better under the maestro's Captaincy.
Indeed Lara has less success, as a Captain, than Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the regional competitions.

Lara, therefore is not an option, but whom else is there?
Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Vice Captain at present, has shown ability and enterprise, on the few occasions he has led the squad, but one wonders if his batting would hold up under the pressure of leading the squad.

Christopher Gayle and Wavell Hinds are also among the candidates, but the latter cannot hold a place in the squad. Gayle may be the person to whom we can look.
Surprisingly -at the time- he was identified by Lara as a possible successor when the Trinidadian world record holder was at the helm. It raised a few eyebrows, but on closer examination it is clear Gayle has a steely temperament -though his batting suggests otherwise- that is perfect to lead a Test playing nation.

The Jamaican opener would be my choice to replace the Guyanese born West Indies Captain, but not just yet.

The Jaguar and the cellular war.

2005-12-02T15:34:00.000-04:00

I apologise unreservedly to Anil Roberts!
I no longer think it is unethical of him to use his many media shows to disparage Digicel. Why?
Well it is simple, I do not want to be a hypocrite.

Until yesterday I thought the affable media personality was banking a few dollars here and there for his TSTT (Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago) advertisements and promotion work. Then I had the coincidental fortune of driving on Abercromby Street at the exact moment Anil Roberts entered a near to new Jaguar.

Yes readers, our boy is driving a Jaguar!

Well, if Robert's media work and TSTT cellular promotional activity has enabled his purchasing a Jaguar, then all power to him. If I were getting that sort of money I'd do the same, especially if I had a ready-made excuse (the shafting of Brian Lara) to fuel the intensity.

Of course it could be his wife's car, or his brother's, or father's or a friend's. If that be the case, all I can say is "nice car boy".

Cellular phones, Digicel, TSTT, and Laqtel

2005-12-01T21:31:00.000-04:00

November 30th came and departed but still no interconnection between telecommunications giant, Digicel; and telecommunications miscreant, TSTT.

As it transpired, Digicel and Laqtel (the other cellular license awardee) had yet to receive their cellular concessions on the aforesaid date, giving TSTT (Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago) and their mouthpiece, Anil Roberts, another excuse for not meeting their commitments to inter-communicate.

Anil Roberts is a quite likeable media personality but it is somewhat disgusting that he, a spokesman for TSTT, can use his radio and television programmes to denigrate Digicel. It may also be unethical.
Roberts' reasoning lies with the alleged interference by Digicel in the selection of the West Indies team and its Captain, but that allegation is tenuous at best and merely acts as a launching pad for Roberts to do his masters' bidding.

The radio personality's claim that interconnection in other Caribbean islands was achieved in a minimum of six months and a maximum of nine months exists in a vacuum. If it is true, I am certain there are circumstances related and unrelated to the Trinidad model.
Roberts needs to quote his source and further enlighten us why the equipment -for inter-connection- was only ordered last fortnight?
Why Digicel's sponsorship of the West Indies team earns them no goodwill with the Trinidad public?
Why we should trust TSTT, a company who only discovered the meaning of customer service three months ago.
And why does he not disclose before every tirade that he is a paid agent of TSTT.

Mind you, I am not dismissing Roberts' argument, because the chap is an intelligent patriot, but I do wish he would offer a more balanced perspective and not engage in absolutes.

In my opinion, it would be naive to believe Digicel are angels in business, but I am willing to separate their sponsorship of West Indies cricket from their business practice in Trinidad and Tobago. I am adopting a wait and see attitude for all the players in the local cellular market.
Even TSTT, whom I admit have lost much of my support, should be given another look; but let's see what's on the table before we decide and as best we can, immunise ourselves from the influence of Anil Roberts and sensationalist marketing from all three telecommunications companies.

Those four parties are acting in their own interests, it is time we the citizens do the same.

Israel and Trinidad and Tobago

2005-11-30T20:40:00.000-04:00

Everyone speculated on the Prime Minister's recent trip to Israel and some -the UNC (United National Congress) supporters- say it was an embarrassment that Patrick Manning's visit coincided with the dissolution of the Israeli government.
But really, who cares?

The Prime Minister did not travel to Israel to ole talk, he went, presumably, to discuss matters of state relating to National Security. Is that something to criticise?

I get the feeling oft times that the Opposition are not at all displeased with the morass in which this country finds itself.
Well let them keep that ideology and see where it takes them.
I gone.

Power 102 FM bacchanal

2005-11-30T20:33:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe what I just heard on Power 102FM.
Listening to Anil Roberts, Chris and Sprang; I heard 8 expatriates from North Carolina had the boldfaced temerity to beat down a Trinidadian steward because he dared to ask for better working conditions.

Whatttttttttttttttttt!

Even the foreigners going crazy in this place!
Life in Trinidad and Tobago is certainly not the average Caribbean life.

World Cup celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago

2005-11-29T20:21:00.000-04:00

Naturally, yuh boy took a drive to St. James, where else, to truly get in the spirit. I bought a barbecue at Rib House and seven or eight beers before the night was over.

That's what I bought, but you know Trinidadians, I was later offered a Bacardi, a Martini, and at least six Baileys before the day was over.
Here are a few photos of the World Cup qualifying celebrations in St. James before I got drunk.

I don't know how this motorcade got through the police because the officers stopped everyone else and blocked the Western Main Road. I suppose it was the pretty girl through the sun-roof.

Trinbagonians will recognise the dreadlocks of legendary musician Roy Cape as he enjoyed the celebrations in his hometown.

Well, if you know ME you know he is a handsome fellow, so it did not take long for a sexyish Trini woman to put herself directly in view for me to enjoy her assets.

I have lots more photos but it's about time you readers say something in the comments box.
Laterz.

Warriors fans celebrate in the streets

2005-11-29T19:38:00.000-04:00

Almost two weeks have passed since the Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany but the glow of that historic victory is still shining brightly.
Many fans took to the streets immediately after the match and it was an orgy of joy and nationalism.
The real party took place when the players (who were permitted to) returned to the country but here are a few photos of the celebrations in the street

I'll add pictures of the party in St James in another post. Carib beer when are you sponsoring this site?