This is a letter sent to the T&T Express and T&T Guardian editors

Letter to Express Editor:

It is unbelievable to see how ridiculous both the government and the PSA are being with regards to the pay-raise issue. A feeling of sympathy could be felt toward the PSA workers but one must be honest in his assessment of a situation. Services within public institutions are of an extremely low standard. Some might argue that poor facilities and lack of quality instruments (to be provided by the government) is the underlying cause for low performance but such individuals are being deceitful and misleading. Many of us could testify of the poor work ethic of government workers. While workers 'chit-chat,' we, members of the general public, wait in long lines for simple procedures. Such incidents show that something needs to be done to correct the poor level of service being administered by government workers. The government should use this as an opportunity. They should give the workers the wage increase which they desire but put in place very strict measures and conditions to improve service. Only under such a condition should their wages be increased.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Mikhail E.D. Byng

Words of Wisdom

I'm always amazed by how many people fail to see the connection between giving and attraction. People will tell me they're writers, but aren't writing anything at the moment because "magazines aren't assigning work right now." Or they're great chefs, but aren't working at the moment because they're self-trained and right now restaurants are "only hiring people who've graduated from culinary school." Whenever I hear that sort of talk, I say, "Stop making excuses and go do what you're supposed to be doing! And you can start by cooking me a nice vegan meal if you've got too much time on your hands!" Imagine if a comedian said, "Sorry, but I can't be funny right now because no one's paying me." Man, it's a comedian's job to be funny all of the time. Whether it's in the barbershop, at an open mic night, or on his own HBO special. Whether he's getting paid or not, he can never stop making people laugh. The moment he stops giving away his humor, he stops being a comedian.

-Russell Simmons

"Always remember to decide early what you want to do and be the best at it! Life is a Mission Not an intermission; we must always be on the go with a mission and purpose constantly before us."

Mikhail E.D Byng -Trinbagonian

trinbagonian: The following is a letter written to the T&T Express Editor

trinbagonian: The following is a letter written to the T&T Express Editor

Give Latas more time!

 
 

It is somewhat surprising to see how vocal critics have been concerning Russell Latapy's tenure as coach of the Trinidad and Tobago senior football team. Individuals like Terry Fenwick have been very outspoken concerning the poor performance of the National senior team at the Digicel Cup and widespread speculation has begun as to the "Little Magician's" future as head coach.  Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Anil Roberts was previously quoted as saying that if the national team did not make it to the Digicel Cup final Latapy should be sacked. Such a view was supported by many members of the public mainly because it is the belief of the general public that Trinidad and Tobago is the best team in the Caribbean (and rightfully so) but it should be noted that the proper support was not given to the "little magician". It seems that members of the TTFF and other influential figures within the football arena were simply waiting and watching from a distance in anticipation for the inexperienced "beginner coach" to fail. It was revealed by TTFF technical director Lincoln "Tiger" Phillips that the TTFF was unable to afford a friendly match before the Digicel Cup, while other nations involved in the Cup were gaining much needed preperation during the FIFA international break. The TTFF cannot even afford to allow the basic footballing necessity of a friendly match while throughout the year other Caribbean countries like Jamaica are able to play quality opposition like Argentina and Nigeria and then we are dissappointed and suprised when we suffer to the hands of so-called "inferior opposition." While we Trinbagonians are now coming off of the high of qualifying for Germany, (four full years from the date!) other Caribbean nations are diligently improving their football. We seem to think that a quick fix could solve every problem! Some seem to think that by firing our own son of the soil "Latas" and hiring a "big name" foriegn coach (who we all know would demand and get friendly matches) that Brazil 2014 could be achieved. Such individuals may actually be right. But it should be noted that the growth and development of football in Trinidad and Tobago would be surely stunted, being pushed back another four years. Russell Latapy is one coach in a long time who has sought to use local based players to the fullest. When Francisco Maturana left as head coach of T&T, he made known the insecurities of local players with regards to their foreign based counterparts and Latapy has addressed such a situation by allowing much more opportunities for local and younger players. If it was not for Latapy, young players like Daniel Cyrus and Shahdon Winchester may have never seen a T&T senior team jersey so early in their careers, thus allowing them to be groomed into sure future prospects for T&T.   

                                                                                                                                                    Mikhail E.D Byng

The following is a letter written to the T&T Express Editor

What has this present Government really done?

 
 

At present I am baffled as to how the situation concerning the SIA "secret files" has been dealt with by this present government. The Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar made a big show in calling out the names of the individuals whose phones were illegally wire-tapped, throwing the nation into widespread debate. Since then she has not been able to account for any such files, giving the public the excuse that she simply doesn't know where the files are. To be plain, such an excuse simply isn't good enough and we the public should not accept an excuse so ridiculous. Mr. Volney was quoted as saying that two Israeli men destroyed the files and the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Head of the National Security Council cannot even affirm or deny such a statement because she clearly does not know what is going on. In numerous instances it has seemed that the present government is in complete chaos. Decisions made by Minister's are being over-turned (namely Jack Warner) for the proclaimed purpose of transparency while so-called "secret files" cannot be accounted for by the Head of the National Security Council and Prime Minister of this country! In addition it has recently been said that the Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has/had seen excerpts of the "secret files." The Prime Minister says she does not know where the files are, the Minister of Justice claims that two Israeli men destroyed the files, and the Attorney General says that he has seen excerpts of the files! The question needs to be asked what is going on within the government of Trinidad and Tobago? Is it that the anti Manning/PNM sentiment is so strong that the public is allowing this Peoples Partnership to get away with anything? It is time that we as Trinbagonians demand quality representation NOW! Call your member for Parliament and question him/her concerning issues! Don't be afraid, that's their job, to represent you! Go ahead make that call or go straight to the office and tell them, that when next they go in Parliament to voice your concerns!

                                                                                                                                                     Yours humbly,

                                                                                                                                                          Mikhail E.D. Byng

The
Trinbagonian

Put out your bucket!

This article is being written mainly because of the economic times in which the world is presently immersed. Recently I have read numerous articles which have stressed the progress of the US financial recovery, The National Bureau of Economic Research has stated that the economic recession which began in December 2007 had come to its end by June 2009 and at present (December 17, 2010) the US economy is in its re- building phase. Such revelations may be deceiving due to the high level of unemployment averaged to be at 17.5 percent when all factors are taken into consideration (part time workers and individuals who have stopped seeking work). The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke has seen it necessary to pump more money into the United States Economy to keep it afloat, money that the United States clearly does not have and frankly is backed by nothing. The rest of the world assume and hope that the United States, because of its great productive power can clear its debt in some way, but a sober look at the figures would clearly show otherwise. At present any more money used by the Federal Reserve would simply be paper backed by nothing. As my father use to say, it seems that this whole money (or rather currency) thing is an entire "concoction"; meaning that it is a set up, something unnecessarily devised. If one understands the psyche of the African West Indian man you may realize that in most cases he is eager to cry oppression and question events in needless cases but I think that this time my father may be on to something (my father being an African West Indian) and Americans should cry out against the oppression of which they are clearly suffering.

    In Bernanke's defense some historians and economists have criticized the lack of action by the Federal Reserve in the 1929 Great Depression attributing the length of the depression to the Federal Reserve's inaction. In the recession of 2008 the Federal Reserve have done simply the opposite, silencing one side of critics and arousing another group who are now raising questions concerning American dept. In the recession of 2008 the Federal Reserve spent over 3 trillion dollars in an attempt to prevent a depression and so far it has worked but this has resulted in an enormous US dept increase.

    Now it should be noted that the United States of America has become the land of real opportunity for shrewd and cunning investors. At present, opportunities have opened up that were never before present. Prices of real estate in states like Detroit and Cleveland are at extreme lows and investors now have the opportunity to capitalize on such opportunities. The landscape of real estate holders and land owners could change drastically in America during this time of uncertainty.

    When it is raining gold, don't run for shelter instead put out a bucket! At present stock prices are low and real estate prices are low and ironically people are afraid to invest in either. If you have access to cash don't hesitate to invest. It would be very rare to find banks that are willing to lend at this point in time so for those who don't have cash available, it would be difficult. But these are the times in which individuals are to capitalize upon although at a moments glance things may seem unstable.