THE EDITOR:

A BRAND new blimp is purchased with sophisticated equipment for surveillance.

A firm is hired to make it operational and also to train locals.

Finally, there is an admission, after many denials that the blimp is not working.

We now hear that the highly technical surveillance equipment was interfering with the engines of the blimp or vice-versa.

Questions must now be asked.

Was a political official speaking the truth when he stated that the blimp provided intelligence information and also that such information led to the down-the-islands bust?

Further questions must now be asked.

Who were the experts who recommended the blimp and the highly sophisticated equipment?

Did the manufacturer of the blimp have prior knowledge that the sophisticated equipment will not work on the blimp?

Did the manufacturer of the highly sophisticated surveillance equipment have prior knowledge that there will be interference with the engine of the blimp?

Is there still a warranty on both the blimp and the highly sophisticated surveillance equipment?

Was the firm hired to make the blimp and the equipment functional paid for the non-commissioning?

More importantly, what was the advice of this firm?

Now we hear of the rental of a second blimp that was recently displayed to the media.

Interestingly, it was demonstrated without the surveillance equipment.

The question must now be asked, will it also work with the highly sophisticated surveillance equipment?

Is this another case of the Tobago hospital?

Imagine, a contractor bidding for this contract even though he is aware of major faults in the design of the hospital.

Now the contractor is asking for more money to correct the faults.

The initial estimate of $100 million, had a contract signed for $140 million (and thereabouts) and now may have a finishing price of over $500 million, if finished.

(Remember the Caroni Racing Complex).

But seriously, blimp blimp, who pays the price?

Taxpayers!

THE EDITOR:

ON behalf of my family and constituents of Barataria/San Juan, I wish to convey my condolences to the family of Mark Rattan who was murdered on Monday December 26, 2005.

This kidnapping gone bad and subsequent murder reflects a complete breakdown of society as we knew it.

No longer is there a respect for life.

No longer is there value for the human soul and compassion for our fellow man.

It is a sad state of affairs.

The way in which the authorities respond to a society that has become decadent and somewhat immoral is in itself a reflection of us as a people.

The present crime wave should never have been allowed to escalate to proportions that may appear to some to be uncontrollable, but it can be controlled if there exist the will, the passion, and the intelligence so to do.

In approaching this crime wave, the authorities must first understand the problem, evaluate, and respond via the cause and effect model.

There exists an anomaly in the way the authorities tackle crime, and in this case, I make specific reference to kidnapping.

It would appear that when certain people are kidnapped, both the Regiment and the police team up to condict searches while this does not occur when others experience the same fate.

Why then should some victims be afforded special attention while others are made to endure the rigours and terror of a similar event without like response?

Discrimination must never be a part of protecting the populace.

Every citizen should be afforded equal protection under the law.

It has been a sad year, and for now, let us pray for the souls of the dearly departed and for those who have suffered at the hands of criminals who no longer cherish life and value the sanctity of the human spirit.

THE EDITOR:

THE Progressive Youth Movement (PYM) has been conducting Cricket and Football competitions in the East-West Corridor since 1957 as a non-profit community service.

Over the years, the league has been a platform for hundreds of sportsmen who moved on to higher levels.

More than 4,000 people between the ages of 10 and 45-years-old actively participate in the competitions per season.

Numerous supporters, parents and spectators come to our matches.

The objective is to develop the latent talents of the underprivileged sportsmen and also to provide a vehicle for our youths to pursue excellence.

This in envisaged to build self-esteem and act as an impetus to the pursuit of excellence.

Football competitions are conducted daily on the open Aranjuez Savannah to conduct our competitions.

Our league is the major league in the San Juan area.

These fields were never maintained over the years and erosion caused them to become undulating, with large depressions. Three persons have tripped on these fields within recent years.

These persons eventually died.

The most recent case has been the late Keith Shepherd.

Several people were also injured.

There is an urgent need to fill and level these fields in order to make them safe.

The PYMFL is scheduled to start in March 2006.

We have written the San Juan Laventille Regional Corporation and approached them to assist with the exercise but no results thus far.

We also wrote to the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the CEO of the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation and the Sports Company but no results.

Other works urgently needed are the desilting of a drain to the North end of the savannah, the completion of the pavilion and cleaning, installation of toilets, bathroom fittings, lighting and other improvements.

To date, no material was supplied.

We have asked Central Bank Governor, Ewart Williams, a PYM member to assist.

THE EDITOR:

WHILE my submissions to the Press are generally confined to the political disaster of 24/12/01 and subsequent, I am constrained to comment upon a recent tribute to the late Clive Bradley by Earl Lovelace.

Being a product of Woodbrook and from its initial appearance an old Invaders man, I have never fully appreciated Bradley’s acknowledged genius which by comparison to the laid back and mellow stirrings of Invaders cellos, particularly on the road on J’Ouvert, struck me as while technically brilliant, nevertheless, too harsh and frenetic for the occasion.

Be that as it may, I am certain that as a fellow aficionado of pan, Lovelace would respect my personal, and perhaps neighbourhood-cultivated preferences, as indeed I have nothing but the highest regard for his own, which in any event, is not the object of this humble submission.

I was moved to the verge of tears of nostalgia by his vivid word picture on a golden era in which entire communities took pride and pleasure in “hands-on involvement” with their “own” steel bands, even if for a majority that involvement was limited to the pre-Carnival panyard lime and wrestling unwieldy pan carriages along rutted public thoroughfares, while yet doing their own thing over the two big days.

Never will I forget my grief and humiliation on the first occasion on which Invaders pans had to be abandoned in St. James for the want of that “hands-on involvement” from committed supporters.

Nor equally, will I forget the disgust of having to inhale diesel fumes as the price of the annual catharsis and rejuvenation which Invaders, and J’Ouvert, had until then represented for me.

Thank you, Sir, for your masterful recreation of what once was.

If that is the price of progress, who needs it?

How much more of value and genuine togetherness has been sacrificed upon altars of so-called progress?

THE EDITOR:

THE Medical Professionals’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT) extends our sincere condolences to Dr. Rattan and his family on the tragic and senseless death of his son.

We send him our prayers during these trying times.

We must, however, take the opportunity to again add our voice to the major organisations, which speak out against crime such as the Keith Noel 136 Committee, the various Chambers of Commerce and DOMA.

MPATT was present among the thousands that participated in the Death March of this year, and we continue to demand safety in our business places, homes, on the road and public places.

Lawlessness continues to thrive unabated with illegal guns apparently in the hands of any bandit who wishes to have one.

When the prime minister stated that, “crime does not affect the average citizen” he was clearly in error.

Crime, kidnapping and murder have touched our national family.

The administration must take immediate effective action.

We should not allow cowardly acts to intimidate us.

Provide the police with all the necessary tools to perform their duty.

Bring law enforcement into the 21st Century.

Act now, for it is already very late.

We pray that Dr. Rattan and his family cope with these exceedingly difficult circumstances.

THE EDITOR:

I WAS beginning to believe that I was alone in TnT, knowing that Christianity was cloned from other religious beliefs that abounded in the Mediterranean as well as other places and which preceded it.

Congratulations Nikola Mitchell for writing the article 12/23/05 and also to the TnT Mirror for publishing it.

I am sure that there are others who are aware of these facts but were afraid to voice them because of pressure from the churches or for fear of being ostracised, however, the truth must eventually be known by all.