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An article of the Trinidad Express, which is no longer online but can be found in the Internet's cache, states:

...online information exchange Jahaji Bhai, Bahen was shut down yesterday after its moderators were warned that some of its internet posts might be in violation of the current State of Emergency in Trinidad and Tobago.

The nature of the posts has not been revealed, but it seems an opportune moment to explain to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago that on the Internet people have their own identities and express their own opinions - and that the closure of any site, any email list, any Facebook group or any other form of expression on the Internet is folly because those willing to express their opinions will do so elsewhere.

Heavy handed threats to publishers for the postings of others is not something unfamiliar in Trinidad and Tobago; indeed, KnowTnT.com has received emails from lawyers in the past that culminated in some blog entries having comments frozen or locked. That lawyers confuse blog posts with comments is disconcerting enough - but this latest development demonstrates the government apparently lacks the capacity to understand that an email list or Facebook Group is not the owner of the opinions expressed.

If people are breaking the laws of Trinidad and Tobago under the State of Emergency through publication of opinion on, for example, a Yahoo Group, it would seem that the government will threaten the coordinators of the group with jail - as alluded to by Mr. Deosaran Bisnath in the article:

...Our moderators perform a voluntary service, 2 or 3 hours every day, but we cannot cope with moderating thousands of messages, posts, and comments every week. We cannot afford to hire full-time moderators; we cannot afford lawyers to represent us in court; and none of us wants to spend time in jail...

Why should a moderator spend time in jail for an opinion expressed by another? An email sent to a list is easily tracked, traced to its source and dealt with accordingly. To fault the moderators is akin to faulting Yahoo, to fault Yahoo is akin to faulting the Internet - and faulting the Internet leads to draconian attempts by government to block internet access. That hasn't worked too well in the past.

The government needs to get a better handle on what social media is, what social media means, and only after those things are done should it consider strategies in dealing with whatever form of postings that could cause issues.

You just can't play chess with the rules of draughts. It is in the government's interests to get this right.

Hat tip to Clarence Rambharat for finding this one.

Sitting around under curfew last night, I decided to do some digging. At what point was it that drug trafficking first was officially recognized as a problem in Trinidad and Tobago and a solution proposed? I remember it as being a topic of discussion throughout the 1980s, actually. I suspect it stemmed from much earlier, perhaps the 1960s, but that was before my time - the 'older heads' would know more on that.

Update: As of 9:39 p.m., contributors are now able to post (sorry for the delay); other updates in the works. Code Monkey suffering curfew Carib deficiency.

As of 3:18p.m., all content has been repaired on the site. The KnowProSE.com LLC Code Monkey is taking a well-deserved break and then will be making the site a little more like the old one and a little less like the old one. :-)

Yesterday, I took some people down to the Siparia District Revenue Office to get part of their form required for water connection filled out. And the office was closed. A sign on the door said that the Siparia District Revenue Office we were at would be closed as of December 31st, 2009 and told people to go visit the Siparia District Revenue Office - without any form of direction. It ends up that the office wasn't closed, but the sign is there to confuse people.

With Trinbagonians distracted with the upcoming Carnival, Beyonce and now Haiti, the new Property Tax seems all but forgotten.

As Trinidad and Tobago rang in 2010, things spoken of most were the ongoing issues that the UNC-A has and the passing of the property tax despite what appears to be the majority of the population against it. Many who I spoke with in South Trinidad were more concerned about how they would survive 2010 than what they would accomplish.

It seems everyone took an unannounced holiday for the holidays - myself included, though I haven't had time for a holiday - so I wanted to let everyone know that we're still alive and kicking.

There's much going on in T&T these days, as always, but I'll be waiting for January to write up a bunch of things that I have been stewing on in between switching hats.

Season's greetings. Drive safely, etc., etc. And don't let the bastards get you down.