I should have something better to write about than Michael Jackson, considering Government arrogance and indifference is at an all-time high, but I take comfort in knowing this unbearable arrogance is a surest sign of a falling Government and it would only be a matter of time before this current bunch of Ministers are replaced, just to show them who is really boss.
I wonder how many Michael Jackson’s fans who are now mourning his loss and signing condolence books actually bought his albums or legal downloads. True, he sold 750 million albums in his short lifetime but he would have sold much more if people didn’t think it was right to steal music. Part of Michael Jackson’s problems was his lack of will to manage his financial life as well as his image but with the success of peer to peer file sharing services, and accusations of being a pedophile, his income dwindled to the point where he had to vacate his Neverland Ranch and rent a $US110,000 per month mansion in LA.
Despite a halfhearted attempt by the Trinidad and Tobago Government to educate the public about intellectual property and why we should not steal it, there is a lack of will to shut down illegal DVD stores. The alternative to an illegal $10 DVD in Trinidad and Tobago would be a legal $200 one. That would be politically unpopular and there are very few countries in the world where the population can tolerate, constant flooding, a high crime rate, interference in democratic institutions plus expensive DVDs. In Trinidad and Tobago, DVD stores are selling nicely packaged, pirated Michael Jackson DVDs and CDs and there will be no police action, either by car or bicycle on these smooth criminals.
People argue that legal DVDs and CDs are too expensive and legal MP3 downloads of foreign music is not available so that is why they must be stolen. People in the developed world have no idea what it means to be third world until they try to buy an MP3 from iTunes or Amazon using a Trinidad IP address. Our region is not supported, they say. “We have the money so what is the problem,” some would scream but as Naipaul is fond of saying, we are just a dot.
So we steal because they won’t sell. Didn’t the cable company in Trinidad pirate HBO and Showtime for years without suffering any Government interference? Apparently, once you steal the Government doesn’t interfere – the government only meddles to stay in power. Nevertheless, there are websites such as MP3VA that sell MP3s to the Third World but their legal standing is questionable and not just because they are Russian. But you can get legal, high quality, downloads to buy from selected labels and artiste from HDtracks.
While people mourn Michael Jackson’s death they illegally download his music. We in the dotty Third World crave to be First World and use any means possible to appear to be by playing the same music and mourning in the same fashion, even if it means acting unethically, if not illegally.
Actor, Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr Bean, is an electrical engineer with an MSc degree from Queens College, Oxford so, like aka, he is obviously no dunce. With and estimated worth of £100 million, he is also no pauper and much smarter than the average electrical engineer. One of my favorite Mr. Bean episodes is Mr. Bean Goes to the Dentist, which I fondly remembered yesterday while waiting for my dentist to say “Open! Drill! Restraints!” followed by “Wow, what an Audi, probably an A6 this time.” Like much copyrighted stuff, I found Mr. Bean Goes to the Dentist posted on YouTube, which probably is in contravention of copyright laws and ethical behavior.
Aka_lol’s Random Thoughts on Dentists
Dentists are not dogs and therefore are not man’s best friends.
According to the Straight Dope website, dentists are 6.64 times more likely to commit suicide than the average population. This is why I check on my dentists more often than I would check on my barber or even my plumber. I need him alive. I want him to suffer for as long as possible.
I think causing physical pain and financial anguish to patients must be stressful for dentists and can cause them to go for a piece of rope or a strap on a suicide bomb as often as they go for BMWs and sexy Audis.
It never huts dentists as much as it hurts their patients.
Some say it was the thought of being escorted at the crack of dawn on some random morning while he was still in his pajamas, on the next one-way plane to Cuba that caused him to declare an imaginary war on criminals for the umpteenth time in as many years. But with the harmonized, spontaneous laughter erupting all over the country minutes into the 7’oclock news last night, people became aware PM PM was after Tommy and Martin Joseph’s crowns as National Joker and Clown, respectively. Even the news anchormen and women had a hard time holding back a chuckle since his antics sounded more like something from the mouth of a standup comic than a real leader.
During the same interview, PM PM said he was angry that social commentators and certain blogs called him compassionless for the statements he made concerning the recent murder of 10 year old Tecia Henry, but nothing he said, or the way he said nothing, during the brief press interview changed anybody’s mind about him. In fact, his show of anger, hate, and disgust over the comments that obviously dented his fragile ego only supported the public’s opinion he is a an insecure leader who dwells only on his imaginary self-importance, and not the people.
So life goes on in our own Neverland where the President will never resign and the Prime Minister will never care. In our Neverland, criminals will never be caught, our economy will never prosper without high oil prices, our money never stop being wasted on nonproductive ego-trips and our leaders will never stop climbing on the back of democracy to become dictators. When will it end? Never.
People start blogging for many reasons but I think the main reasons are (a) because everybody is doing it, and (b) it’s cheaper than a short skirt. Soon, however, if we persist, we get very attached to our blog and it becomes a part of us just like our chiseled abs or our “Beyonce in a short skirt” desktop background. We worry about not posting and we assume once we write a post it becomes a significant part of the blog universe. We believe people read out blogs and hope it becomes a source of inspiration and envy just as our Nissan Almeras and women have become. Posting to our blog then becomes our fix.
There is nothing bad about being addicted to blogging except it changes the way we look at the world causing us to go through life looking at every thing and every situation wondering if this could be our next blog post.
With this in mind, and in order to try to get a better understand the blogger’s mind, I developed a blog survey. I posted the questions below because I needed a fix but if you seriously want to help move blog science forward, then do the actual survey by clicking here.
1.0 Why do you blog?
(a) It will be my legacy
(b) I need attention
(c) I need an outlet for my frustration
(d) Sex
(e) I am turned on by comments
2.0 Do you plan to sell the rights of you blog to a movie company?
So, what happens to us after we die? Well, if we were any good we would have ten albums in the Top Ten at the same time. We would be on the cover of nearly every newspaper in the world and we would be the subject of countless blogs. The news of our death would cause the big TV networks and small ones to dump their regular programming to carry the event. People would gather in large numbers at our home and the hospital where we died. We would have the most popular, currently watched videos on YouTube and our music played all day on the radio. Our death would cause shock, sadness but a flood of happy memories. We would be idolized and our questionable side put into perspective. We would cause the World to stop dead in its tracks and celebrate our life rather than mourn. If we were any good, people would be singing our songs to fill an emptiness they can’t hide.
I suppose it is only after he died Michael Jackson knew what his life really meant.
Every day seems to be a better day in Trinidad and Tobago and yesterday was no exception. Camille Danniel, a woman who lived in Diego Martin, was carjacked. She attempted to escape by pulling into a “Model Police Station” but this plan didn’t work. The carjackers probably threatened to shoot Mrs. Danniel if she pulled in to the police station and she may have thought it was an acceptable risk because a Police Station should be a symbol of security. Tragically, Mrs. Danniel last moments were spent in terror as she was shot in the back on driving into the police station by one of the carjackers who was intent in keeping his criminal word. She died on the spot.
Most people, except The Party Faithful, were appalled at this recent assault by criminals on a defenseless woman but it was not unexpected since the interceptor boats have not arrived in the country yet. Citizens also think there is only a cosmetic approach to the crime problem in Trinidad and Tobago as there were always rumors saying some very big people with long strings and the police are involved in drugs and guns in Trinidad and Tobago. Citizens are outraged by this Murder in a Model Police Station and the only thing that may take the people’s minds away from the incident is if the Prime Minister announces the construction of another smelter or praises Martin Joseph’s intellect again.
We do not care if Martin Joseph is putting his best foot forward. We do not care The Prime Minister never expresses compassion because he has none. Did he speak with any compassion about Tecia Henry’s murder? We do not care if the Prime Minister has a fragile ego and Martin Joseph is his mentor and scapegoat. All we want is to not get killed and raped. We want to walk the streets without worrying about carjackers and muggers, and not worry about drunk drivers and speeding cars. All we want is to breathe air without toxins and to not fight the Government to do what is right. We are not asking for much but to the average ruling politician we are asking too much.
No doubt the studying of the latest crime plan by Martin Joseph will be fast tracked to give the nation another illusion of care. Just wait and see.
Fast forward to the future and the scene is not a pleasant one.
A cheap knockoff of the national cracker, Crix, is being made by an underground biscuit cartel and fooling all but the best biscuit experts. The nation is on high alert and the CoP is accepting full responsibility while blaming citizens for taking Crix and its holes for granted. He tells the public “We should have never allowed this hole issue to get to this stage and any true Trini knows an original Crix has 18 holes so how on earth can a citizen eat a Crix without checking the holes? This is madness.” He urges citizens to report all cracker incidents to the police and to count their holes before they bite. The Minister of National Security urges citizens to be calm and promises a special Counterfeit Cracker Squad, equipped with the latest PR people and cracker hole counting equipment, will be set up. The Opposition Leader is calling for foreign experts claiming the national cracker is in a jam. The PM thinks that remark was cheesy.
Is it legal to wear a facemask in public outside of Carnival Monday and Tuesday? If it is illegal the police has turned one of their many blind eyes to it. Swine Flu, A(H1N1), has now hit Trinidad and Tobago with the number of cases increasing daily causing facemaks to become as popular as condoms at Carnival. One police officer in Chaguanas was infected with the virus and a bigmouth Opposition Senator came close to getting it. There are 11 confirmed cases in Tobago and 7 in Trinidad which is scary since this is Trinidad and Tobago, the land of wasted billions and spiteful polaticians.
Caring Business Men?
In Chaguanas, people who were able to get facemask were wearing them in public while hand sanitizers were sold out at all pharmacies despite jacked up prices. Before the swine flu breakout, hand sanitizers were only used by those who knew better or wanted to “make a statement without saying a word.” Today, it is for only those who can afford it.
Should The Queen Visit?
The Government, under pressure to do what is right, wisely canceled the Caribbean Games in July and there is even talk it might affect The CHOG Summit in November. The Suriname Volleyball team contracted Swine Flu and is blaming Trinidad for it while a child in Antigua also contracted swine flu traceable to Trinidad. Our influence on the region cannot be doubted and the region is now bracing for a triple play; hurricanes, recession and swine flu. Hopefully this awareness of the virus will cause citizens to follow WHO guidelines to prevent its spread.
Should I Use Puncheon Rum?
(1) Wash hands with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds and use alcohol based sanitizers (Purel, Dial, puncheon rum etc) when soap and water is not available.
(2) Cover mouth and nose when coughing and not like how it was done before.
(3) If you have influenza type symptoms such as “fever plus at least cough or sore throat and possibly other symptoms like runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea” see a doctor, even if you recently ate food from a St. James roadside food vendor.
(4) Keep at least six feet from coughing and sneezing humans and shout at them saying “Get away from me, you swine flu carrier!” Make sure the coughing and sneezing human feels embarrassed enough to avoid public contact for the next two weeks.
Is swine flu a big deal or just a reason to miss work?
Some may think the swine flu is no big thing but it is. This influenza is not like the regular influenza virus where mainly old people, who were silently considered expendable, were affected. This swine flu or H1N1 seems to be seriously affecting the more valuable and better looking people who are also in the prime of their working and sexual life; people in their 20s to 40s. Yes, people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s can be attractive and sexually functional and therefore should also take the necessary precautions against the virus if they wish to continue having pleasures in life and in bed
Don’t Panic?
Earlier this month WHO declared A(H1N1) to be a pandemic. The word pandemic was derived from the Greek word pandēmos, meaning of all the people and should not be confused with the word panic, which was derived from the name for the Greek God of terror, Pan.
However, in Trinidad and Tobago, the health care system is poorly managed and with this added burden of a H1N1 now hitting the country, a good dose of panic is hard to avoid.
So The Butterfly Effect was responsible for undoing the West Indies in the World 20Twenty semifinals today. You see, I just went in the kitchen to get a coconut drop that was supposed to be in the microwave for protection against ants but couldn’t find it so I may have closed the microwave door at the wrong time and a bit too hard which triggered a series of unfortunate events ending with three West Indian wickets falling in the first over at The Oval in England, and before I returned without my coconut drop. Yes, my microwave door and I accept full responsibility for this latest demise of the West Indies Cricket Team.
It now appears almost certain that The Butterfly Effect, triggered by West Indian fans snacking at the wrong times, cause this type of thing a lot especially when The West Indies is batting and sometimes even when Bravo is bowling. All fans are now required to be very still during West Indies matches to avoid further catastrophes.
To make a long story short, The West Indies lost to Sri Lanka in convincing fashion as they barely managed 100 runs in their semifinal match. This loss by the West Indies was a disappointment to Windies fans and an embarrassment to butterflies and coconut drops everywhere.
Justice Mira Dean-Armorer, in her ruling on a lawsuite brought by a group of citizens against the EMA for issuing a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to Alutrint to construct an aluminum smelter in La Brae, said “It is my view that the decision of the defendant, EMA, was procedurally irregular, irrational, and made without regard to the relevant consideration, that is to say, the consideration of the cumulative impact of the three related projects—the power plant, the aluminum complex, and the port facility.”
The judge did not say the smelter was unsafe but the experts at the EMA, a politically independent body that should be responsible for guarding the environment, could not prove it was. The citizens apparently were able to show the judge enough evidence to cause her to be concerned and possibly wonder if the people at the EMA had all their marbles. The average citizen, who is illiterate because they live in La Brea according to their MP, might come to the conclusion the EMA bowed to political pressure rather than their conscience and duty.
I find it unsettling that the biggest threat to happiness and comfort of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago is the Government. Some, like the Prime Minister and his cabinet members, would say every action of protest brought by citizens against Government’s wishes is due to opposition politics and nothing to do with genuine concerns. Some might even say every decision by a judge against the Government’s actions is due to politics and not rational thinking. Everybody, except the politically insecure and obedient, knows these arguments are weak and usually parroted by weak minds that have lost the ability to think rationally and care for humanity. But a rational politician is like a sane madman or an intelligent dunce.
This case is destined to go to the Privy Counciland if the EMA (Government) should lose then the reputation of the EMA would be damaged beyond repair and this would send a signal to the world that the threat to democracy is alive and well in Trinidad and Tobago. This is another case where the ordinary citizen will be fighting the people, aka Government, on behalf of the people.
People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people ~ V from the movie V for Vendetta
aka_lol is not my real name and it isn't even a name. I am a male, self-taught blogger with aspirations to become better over time and with counseling.
Bio
aka_lol was born in Trinidad and Tobago and blogs from the island of Trinidad. He is a friendly blogger with no blog-purpose other than self-amusement and immortality.
aka_lol's hobbies are photography, writing wrong things, reading good books, trans-Atlantic swimming, and meteor dodging.
aka_lol is an engineer by profession and by choice. As hard as it is right now, aka_lol supports the West Indies Cricket team.
About Engineers
An engineer is someone who is good with figures, but doesn't have the personality of an accountant.
- An Arts graduate's view of engineers-
An engineer is someone who washes his hands before going to the toilet.
- Anonymous-
There are three possible roads to ruin - women, gambling and technology. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technology.
- Georges Pompidou -
Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If
your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them
down people's throats. - Howard Aiken, IBM engineer -
copyright
aka_lol thinks it should be obvoius that the original content of this blog is copyrighted by the owner, aka:aka_lol and may not be reproduced without permission. The content not created by aka_lol belongs to its owners. Maybe you are wondering who in their right mind will ever want to copy anything from this blog. I am wondering that as well, but having the right mind isn't as common as you may think.
Quote of the Day
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect ~ Mark Twain
Contact
lol.aka@gmail.com
Blogging
This blog post is part of Zemanta's "Blogging For a Cause" campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.
I did the Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz and here is my score
The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendancy will help you interact with and to understand others.
Despite a halfhearted attempt by the Trinidad and Tobago Government to educate the public about intellectual property and why we should not steal it, there is a lack of will to shut down illegal DVD stores. The alternative to an illegal $10 DVD in Trinidad and Tobago would be a legal $200 one. That would be politically unpopular and there are very few countries in the world where the population can tolerate, constant flooding, a high crime rate, interference in democratic institutions plus expensive DVDs. In Trinidad and Tobago, DVD stores are selling nicely packaged, pirated Michael Jackson DVDs and CDs and there will be no police action, either by car or bicycle on these smooth criminals.
People argue that legal DVDs and CDs are too expensive and legal MP3 downloads of foreign music is not available so that is why they must be stolen. People in the developed world have no idea what it means to be third world until they try to buy an MP3 from iTunes or Amazon using a Trinidad IP address. Our region is not supported, they say. “We have the money so what is the problem,” some would scream but as Naipaul is fond of saying, we are just a dot.
So we steal because they won’t sell. Didn’t the cable company in Trinidad pirate HBO and Showtime for years without suffering any Government interference? Apparently, once you steal the Government doesn’t interfere – the government only meddles to stay in power. Nevertheless, there are websites such as MP3VA that sell MP3s to the Third World but their legal standing is questionable and not just because they are Russian. But you can get legal, high quality, downloads to buy from selected labels and artiste from HDtracks.
(10)