Category: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Just a quick pointer - while the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has put out the specifications for laptops that 'public' tender has started on (see the specs here), there were remarks made about a laptop in the local media (Newsday, perhaps? ) that did not do much to answer questions regarding a cheap laptop that India was making.
It has been unveiled, complete with video:
...The tablet computer, developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science in Bengalooru, will eventually be made available to the public. It will run on an open source Linux operating system with Open Office software and can be powered by solar panel or batteries as well as mains electricity. It will have no hard drive but users will have access to a USB port, 2GB of memory and a video-conferencing facility, internet browsing...
Is the present government of Trinidad and Tobago agile enough to reverse course and accomodate this technology, or is their political inertia going to press the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to pay exponentially more for a political promise made with no plan in actually assisting educators and children?
Time tells all.
First, we had the dousing of a PNM candidate with red paint and the threat on Kamla Persad-Bissessar's life. And then, yesterday, we had the apparent plot to sew chaos in the General Election - complete with a single AK-47 and 48 rounds of ammunition as well as the carjacking of the UNC political leader. I know, there was a thrown object that hit Mrs. Warner a glancing blow as well, but the police and media hasn't even been able to say what the object is other than it was metallic. That could have been a bottle cap for all we know.
Of all of these things, what disturbs me most is that there quite simply aren't a lot of facts and way too many theories. This morning I've already heard my share of theories that fit all of this and I've even thought up a few on my own. To be clear, violence has no place in an election. That's for those of you who might be wondering - and for the children who are growing up with this as their first experience at democracy.
The AK47. {Read more}
Via a post to my Facebook page 2 hours ago (I was afk):
...The official vehicle of the Prime Ministerial candidate of the People’s Partnership and Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad Bissessar was hijacked in the vicinity of the Tunapuna Hindu School at approximately 2:30 p.m. this afternoon.. The vehicle, described as a midnight blue Prado bearing the licence plate PCJ 3 in which Mrs Persad Bissessar's niece, Lisa Harry, was travelling along with her driver was intercepted by an armed gang driving a silver Almera with the licence plate PCH 8663. The gang robbed Miss Harry and the driver before throwing them out of the vehicle...
Well, now that doesn't look good on the present regime. I wonder if it has anything to do with the large police presence in La Romaine I just saw, blocking the road. Probably not. Even so, it seems a bit odd to rob the official UNC vehicle.
On the flip side, a Prado is a big 'rob me' indicator, so this could be just a standard robbery instead of the political issue we'll hear oh-so-much about tomorrow.
People's Partnership Leader, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar was quoted, in reference to the UK's newly-formed coalition government: '... no-one is saying that the [Lib-Con] coalition is a threat to Britain. In fact what they are saying is that it is a tribute to the strength of the system of parliamentary democracy.'
That is not entirely true. Many folks have openly expressed concerns about the UK coalition, including members of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties. The pound sterling fell on 12 May 2010 based on market fears that the coalition government would struggle to cut the budget deficit (the main economic concern). Also, in some constituencies, the councillors and activists are vehemently opposed to each other, and will be campaigning against each other in upcoming local government elections. So the threat of the coalition collapsing is fully recognised by all. {Read more}
It's well known in Trinidad and Tobago that Kamla Persad-Bissessar has an apparent bounty on her life. Like good politicians, both sides are rolling with it. Kamla says it won't deter her. Patrick Manning, present Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, says that law enforcement says the 'hit' is a hoax. And the beat goes on.
Whether a hoax or not, I think that $5 million TT dollars is a bit of an arbitrary figure. That's not even $1 million U.S. dollars. Indeed, if someone wanted to kill a political leader one would think that they'd be willing to spend a little bit more. Of course I don't support such hints and allegations that make more security necessary, but it seems odd to me.
People I've spoken with have varying opinions. The UNC hardcore supporters, of course, see this as an attack on the queen and like ants they swarm to protect her. The hardcore PNM supporters seem to agree that it's a hoax. In between, others think it could be a business cabal spending some money on modifying democratic selection or that the UNC started this to garner sympathy votes or that someone is serious about supporting anything but Kamla. What a tangled web of public opinion!
As usual, there simply aren't enough facts. And the reputation of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) precedes any work that they may or may not do. Generally speaking, people don't trust the TTPS very much to find things out. It's the perfect storm. No matter what the TTPS says, people will believe what they want because the TTPS has been tarnished over the last 8 years with their lack of efficacy in everything from kidnappings to the casual 'bounceydent' on the roads. Unfortunately, that reputation also affects how the new 'increased security' is perceived by voters. {Read more}
Leader of the Opposition coalition, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, reminded her audience on a campaign platform recently that you should judge a person by what they do. She used the old adage: 'By their deeds, you shall know them.'
The PNM leadership has a lot to explain from a dispassionate review of their terms in office since 2001, especially the treatment of Dr Keith Rowley after he became their UDeCOTT corruption whistle-blower. But the adage cuts both ways, and if applied to the UNC element of the coalition, there is also aq glaring concern.
Journalist and long-time researcher of alleged FIFA corruption, Mr Andrew Jennings, gave a presentation in Miami on 04 May 2010 at the 8th Annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference. His presentation was to have been carried live by the state-owned television company, CNMG, but the link was lost just as his presentation was due to start and was never repaired. {Read more}
There has been plenty of talk regarding Anand Ramlogan's comments on Winston Dookeran as compared to Kamla Persad-Bissessar, where Mr. Ramlogan commented that Winston Dookeran and his lack of charisma and/or passion would not bring change to Trinidad and Tobago - thus explaining his personal motive for switching from the Congress of the People (COP) to the United National Congress (UNC-A). Some say that it was in poor taste, some say that it was accurate, some say that it was divisive to the Opposition to the ruling party (PNM), and some don't really care.
I'll just say its politics and that, knowing Anand Ramlogan's works for the regular people of Trinidad and Tobago second hand, I do respect him but it doesn't mean I agree with him in all things. With this, I am not certain and I am compelled to explain the principle of why I am uncertain.
And in explaining this, I'm not taking a political stance between COP and UNC-A, or between Winston Dookeran and Kamla Persad-Bissessar. I'm not even disagreeing (or agreeing) with Anand Ramlogan's comments. It all seems pointless to me, but it compels me to write about this in a broader context.
The Principle, The Opinion. {Read more}
According to the twittersphere, Kamla Persad-Bissessar has won the United National Congress Alliance internal election. For the nosebleed section, that means that Basdeo Panday is no longer running the show.
A lot has been written about this election. A lot has been said about how important it is for a change of leadership or a lack of change of leadership within the UNC-A. All of that stops now - the leadership has changed. As is to be expected, Kamla Persad-Bissessar has a lot of things she now has to live up to.
She should know that I'm not a part of that weight. I've learned over the years not to believe anything said before an election. I didn't vote for her (or the others!) and thus I have the least expectations of her. In this way, I'm probably be her best friend a year or two from now.
That being said, there has been some mention of a coalition between COP and the UNC-A. What it should be, if they want to wedge their way back into the misdirected Westminster system, is a reconciliation between the two groups of supporters. The UNC-A supporters strongly echoed the sentiments of a split vote yet the voices from which they echoed did not openly recognize the fact that the vote was split because people didn't believe they weren't very good at Opposition. If the last two elections have demonstrated anything, it is the lack of popular support of the party parading (barely) as Opposition.
Will Kamla change that? She can't. Not by herself. She'll need support for that. And when this is all said and done, will Kamla still be in charge of Opposition?
No one knows, everyone has an opinion - but Time reveals everything. I'll wait for Time.
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