Food prices

Yuh need a commission of inquiry to tell you the reasons we have high food prices? After they done pull up the irrigation from the farmers down in wallerfield not to mention the pile of rock on the abandoned roadworks from Arima on part of the IDB Loan OC932-TT for US$300 Million to be repaid over the next 20 years by we, the citizens.

Anyway a commission of inquiry don't have no teeth. If they was serious they would establish the fair trade commission for the act that was passed in 2006 that could impose a fine of 10% of a company's turnover if it is found to be engaged in price fixing.

Steupz.

Edited 24 Feb 08.

Trini Girl Blue please see quote page 22 paragraph 5 of the "Food Prices and Food Security in Trinidad and Tobago" report by the FAO in September 2007.

"In certain commodity markets, scope for gaining significant profit by exercising market control has materialised into oligopolistic behaviour of wholesalers."

This is my point. They ALREADY KNOW what is causing the high food prices and REFUSE to do anything about it.

A good day

Every so often I take a day off to enjoy the good things about this country.

First no driving.

During the hike on the river trail, not a single drop of rain although earlier the sky seems set up as we headed out. Also no mosquitoes.

Then fresh coconut to quench your thirst after a long morning walk.

Got a nice big bad of coal for $100.
Sweet watermelon at $3 a lb.

Spent the afternoon bathing in the sea and digging chip chip for dinner.

Must try to do this once a month.

They are back!

I see all the Trini Bloggers are finally back in full force.

First please sign petition for the Gingerbread house, please please.

Second to Mango

What pay would you be happy with?
As for underutilisation- I face that too, but it comes with working with your crazy trinis. But I do have a job that seriously challenges my critical thinking skills I want to palm off, send me an email if you are interested.
Limited access to cutting edge technology - the fact is that Trinidad cannot afford development trials.

I am whole

A large part of the reason I have been reading Kenyan Blogs is because dem Trinis not blogging. Come on ppl carnival done.

But in the search for some news I found an excellent post by a trini expat.

http://trinbagoblog.com/social/the-trouble-with-love/

This describes exactly why I returned home. For good.

While it aggravates me, how we money waste and I can't use half my educashun.

I do get a sense of peace that comes with walking the 'filthy' streets, listening to the taxi news and eating doubles and calaloo on a regular basis.

And Kathryn, we will leave the light on so you can find your way home.

Are we there yet?

On seeing this on the news I could not help think about the 'pc' word, Kenyans are using to describe their situation - 'Internally Displaced Persons".
Apparently you are only a refugee if you cross an international border.

I wish I could understand what this says, it sounds nice.

There are really only two tribes.

Last word on Kenya

Time to stop reading Kenyan Blogs.

I applaud the bloggers for giving me a better understanding of the issues involved. Thank you.

The western media is not interested in portraying a fair and holistic picture of the issues involved. The fact is that what is going on in Kenya is not 'tribal'. It's economic. Also no one is really disputing the fact that the incumbent rigged the election.

One blogger said that it is in crises like these that nations are formed and true leaders emerge.

I hope that someone steps up and they find a way to live in peace.

Kenya views

I am going to make some real racist comments in this post. If you are easily offended desist now.

Having spent a couple of hours reading Kenyan Blogs, despite the fact that the view "is limited to a particular socio-economic group (upper to middle class)" as Mango so elegantly puts it. I conclude.

The upper/middle class is generally tribeless, classful but tribeless. That is clear from the scorn at which some described the post-election violence in December. - It was the people in the shanty towns killing themselves over the scraps.

It's like the railway people in Longdenville, decide the PNM didn't win the election fairly and decided to go on rampage of all the African homes in the area. The Lange Park people don't care.

Then the president who took power refused to send the military in because he was too scared that the generals would take power for themselves.

So keeping in mind that the crime situation had been worsening for some time the Africans decided that they had to go out and get justice for themselves. And so they did. With no operational government mayhem ensued.

Kenya had a coup in 1982, the issues underlying the unrest were never addressed, so as one right-wing commenter crassly put it, Africa is like a woman who must bleed periodically when she doesn't get enough %@*&.

Have we addressed what caused the coup in 1970? and when all hell breaks loose will the international community label it as civil "tribal/racial" strife.

I end with Mzalendo's comments(amended):

The fallacious logic is as follows
I hate Ramesh;
Ramesh is Indian;
therefore I hate Indians.

Is that logical? Would we not be closer home if we argued,
I hate Ramesh;
Ramesh is a politician;
therefore I hate politicians.

Nowhere to hide

my money that is. With the market crash it is starting to look grim. That said if you had enough money to do individual share buying there are some really sweet deals. But for the average person with a few thousand TT to spare it is looking very bleak at the moment.

Guardian/Bourse/Home Mortgage Bank have all topped off at 7% for now.
Scotia is actually offering 8.6% but that has an 18 month tie in, not instant access.

UTC has picked a very bad time to go international and they lack experience to deal with this kind of volatility.

Zopa and Prosper can't offer anything better either.

So I suppose I am stuck.

Lady Chancellor FYI

This is for Girl Blue

bpTT Corporate Security Advisory: Assault on Lady Chancellor Hill

2007.12.17

Many persons make jogging a part of their exercise routine and Lady Chancellor Hill is one of the most popular areas for this type of activity.

Unfortunately, last Saturday (15 December 2007), a female jogger was raped on Chancellor Hill just after 6.00 a.m. As she got to the top of the hill, two men who were sitting on a railing as she ran pass, grabbed her, took her into the bushesand assaulted her.

bpTT Corporate Security Department
Telephone: (868) 623 2862 exts: 5223,5434,5890,5732,4234,4476