TNN 114

Okay, leh we pull off now......(deep voice)...Dis...is...TNN.... ah goin' an' partyyyyyy toniiighht...ah goin' an' party toniiightttt.. (background music.....Shortshirt?)

Jumpstation: Ill at ease; Crime; Legalize carnival; You know is January in TnT when.

Eh-heh.. well de year eh good start yet, is so much strike yuh would t'ink is baseball we playin'...!  De doctors at de hospitals in ah uproar an' "witholdin' dey enthusiasm.."  I wasn't aware dey had any in de first place, except of course when dey in private practice...... but anyway, dey cyah say dey strikin', because de Industrial Court already hand down ah injunction las' year to prohibit such, or else is jail in de pfeffen!

So dey eh want to sign new contracts.. no contract, no work.... de amazing t'ing is dat is de Junior Doctors dat start it.... them who now leave Med. School....  Ah wonder who put dem up to it..? 

Now leh we examine de facts... senior doctors was protestin' an' out from since last year..  Suddenly junior doctors decide to follow suit.... De senior doctors in one hospital say dey cyah do all de work of junior doctors, so dey want to resign...... hmmmmm....any flashing lights yet...?! Conspiracy theories?

Now it always have two sides to ah coin... an' doh forget de edge too! Leh we examine de situation.... las' year we had de same situation.. doctors wanted more pay, so de government meet wit' de Public Services Association union (PSA) an' work out ah package....  De doctors say de PSA gi' dem ah bad deal, an' further more dey eh want de PSA representin' dem.....dey go form dey own group...so dey vex an' dey gone on strike....

Industrial Court say back to work or alyuh behinds go be interfered with!  So dey grumble an' gone back..... incidentally, when dey had security issues in de hospitals, dey went on strike too... so this is de third time in one year dat dem eh workin'.....ah suppose medicine is now ah part time job!

I eh have no problem wit' no new body, but if it eh recognised as de legal bargaining agent, how de hell yuh want de government to draft contract wit' dem.... simply do what is necessary to get recognised... dere are procedures for dat yuh know......but doh look in yuh medical texts for it, okay?........

Now de junior doctors want dey contracts to say dat de government will negotiate wit' de new organisation (which is not legally recognised) an' dey suddenly find 14 other clauses in de contract dey have problems wit'... I wasn't aware dat government contracts were so flexible as to change at your whim an' fancy.. any changes in contract has to be ratified by de Ministry and other bodies, etc.. so if yuh want 14 changes... good *^#$#%# luck!

So of course if yuh eh like something dis year, no doubt we could expect ah strike nex' year until it resolve?! Umm? So every year we go have ah shut dong?  Who, I might add, payin' de bulk of yuh tuition expenses to train you....oooopsss!  Forgot dat!  Yes, de same taxpayers who could dead!

De Ministry is of course refusing to budge an' poor people sufferin' as usual.. no operations, strictly emergency mode at hospital etc...

Now, in my books, though, it have certain people who CANNOT in clear conscience go on strike or withhold services unless they have in place ah contingency plan.. people like doctors, regiment, fire department, Police etc... if I eh show up for work, nobody life in danger or security threatened, so yuh have to realise dat certain actions just CANNOT be entertained if yuh in ah certain job.........

My take is simply to meet de doctors and see what de problems are and try an' resolve de issue...de Minister is being unecessarily hardheaded..... yuh could meet wit' dem, but just tell dem yuh cyah negoitiate wit' dey body until they go through de hoops for the new union to get recognised, see what yuh could solve at that point an' leave de rest' to de law.... but everybody want dey pound of flesh apparently....

I agree de doctors have issues (poor equipment, lack of proper facilities, long hours, etc..) an' in fact de whole health sector need reforming to benefit EVERYONE, but dis damn nonsense about throwin' more spanners in ah already broken machine to make sure you "get yuh piece" shows dat dem doctors "operating" like dem "eh have ah heart"! 

CRIME...

As if dem doctors eh tryin' to kill people already, de criminals takin' up de slack.. a new record for murders las' year in TnT (ah too shame to say how many) an' now we start de New Year in cowboy fashion....

Of course PM (Manos) had to make ah statement on it... unfortunately...!  He say dat most of de shootings were among gang members, so dat de public at large is excluded... true, but only for de latter part of de year..... further, ah wasn't aware dat gang shootings were tolerable once de "ordinary" citizen wasn't involved.. to say nothin' of kidnappings.. de only person dey eh take is those who eh living in Trinidad....Tobago as usual is largely out of de picture...very little on de crime front

To give de police ah break, dey have been solving the latest series of shootings and kidnappings, but de Police Administration like Health, is ah archaic mess!  Leh we eh talk about de Minister of National Security... yuh cyah see he atall! Atall!  Like he get kidnap!

I hardly think that the owner of a nighttime entertainment spot is necessarily de person yuh want for such ah Minister, but Manos knows best (in his little world!)......

It is obvious to all an' sundry that criminals gettin' younger (dey jus' charge ah 17 yr. old for murder), so dat tells me something... de biggest problem have to be in de home, because dem chilren roaming de streets an' imbibing all kinda criminal stories from dey "boys".

I say it already, an' ah go say it again, unless yuh make parents responsible and give schools REAL authority to deal wit' deviant behaviour, yuh go eat de bread dat de Devil knead..... stale and without butter!   Unless yuh start patrolling high crime areas an' grabbing any under 18 who on de streets an' draggin' dem dong to de Police Stations, bringing dey parents or guardians in, etc to deal wit' de problem (sometimes dem is part of de problem too!) you go always be spinning top in mud...an' dam t'ick mud at dat!

Wey al de fadders of dese children.. why dey not paying child support, who tracking dem dong? All dese question we have to ask and FIND solutions.. dis waiting till dey commit ah criminal offence an' den arresting dem (de Prison system itself need reforming, but dat is on de way...), is to try and ketch de horse after it done bolt... ah hope yuh have plenty speed!

LEGALIZE CARNIVAL.....

Which apparently is what dey tryin' to do on dis side, boy...!  It have ah proposition before de government by some bandleaders to provide more security, so dat non-costumed masqueraders would not be able to enter bands.. dey say dem people does slow dong de band an' it have some willful ones dat does cause trouble, because dey does snatch handbag, wallet.. whatever dey see..

Now, I eh have no problem wit' extra Police security, but brudder de sheer unworkability of dat project is astounding.... can you imagine I chippin' dong de street, an' nex' ting ah hear ah fren bawl out meh name... somebody I eh see in must be 4 or more years.. I go jus' stan' an' wave or I eh go jump in an' give she ah hug up, chip along for ah block in ah ole talk an' den head off again? (If is ah man, ah go jus' wave;)  Dat is we way of doin' t'ings..

Sometimes, yuh girlfren, wife, overseas frens come dong an' you jus' keepin' ah eye on dem (you might not like de costume or being confined to one band) an' is because yuh have to watch dem from de pavement?  What about if you want to cross de street...?  Yuh go go around an almost half mile of band rather than just pass through..?

An' doh talk about dey slowin' dong de ban', because de problem dey is de stupid routing system dat dey refuse to change...  Since 1980 dey tryin' to solve it an' eh succeed yet!  Lack of common sense if yuh ask me.....an' de bandleaders who complain de mos' is dem who have people in bikini, strings and beads....so yuh doh expect to attract one setta cavemen? How come certain other bands doh have dat problem? When ah did say dat dat is not costume, dat is just lack of imagination togedder wit' beachware, alyuh didn't take meh on.. so take yuh licks now..! What yuh sow yuh will reap!

So what is de point of de camaraderie, people smilin' for pictures, everybody "Togedder as one.." When de band reach near de Savannah or ah judging stage, all de non masqueraders does leave, people get to jump up an' yuh meet dem at de odder edge of de stage or later on in de day....  Now ah not sayin' dat some people doh overdo de t'ing or not out to cause trouble, but with de security in de bands an' ah few extra policemen or army men, dat should take care of any troublemakers....in Nottinghill, in Labor Day, in Miami, people does chip alongside de band, greet dey frens, have ah good time... dey get dat from we! An' now we want to stop what is de most important part of de Mas.. de "all ah we togedder" feeling, everybody jumping, dancing, chippin' along, etc....remove dat an' is jus' ah stale parade..

Carnival was always de people t'ing...BEFORE we had costumed bands..! An' if dey try to stop dat ah hope dey have 'bout 50,000 Police an' ah jail as big as Port-of Spain to put people who pass through bands.... ah better dress in stripes one time!

Yuh know what is de longest month of de year for Trinis? January...because all ah dem does take/get dey pay early in December, spend it like it eh have no tomorrow....an' wen January come holdin' de belly an' bawlin'..so..

YUH ALWAYS KNOW WHEN JANUARY COME IN TnT BECAUSE....

Yuh countin' yuh "travellin' money" in change, not dollars.....!

Yuh use de ham bone about 10 times in soup for ah "meat flavour" because yuh cyah afford meat!

Yuh usin' salt an' water to brush yuh teeth, because toothpaste too expensive....!

Yuh only passin' in by people around meal times...!

Yuh rubbin' sweet lime under yuh arm for deodorant...!

Yuh takin' short drop an' walkin' de rest of de distance home...!

Yuh chile done mash up de "childproof" toy...!

Yuh shutting off yuh car in traffic to save gas...!

Yuh knockin' de tin to get de las' dust of milk out, so de baby could feed...!

Yuh dogs eating grass, because it eh have no "food scraps" to give dem....!

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Dat’s all for dis week folks…remember any queries, questions, comments, hail outs, etc… jus’ write to we anchorman Cobra at ttcobra1@hotmail.com an’ we go get back to yuh… Take care care, alyuh, ah gone….Peace…..  Look, ah walk ah mile an' ah half again....dis time meh body in pain...but to every mile post ah pass she say.....it ent far again "just dey" ….. (background music, ah forget who sing dat on yes...!)