Bruising of egos

CEDROS police officers are investigating an alleged attack on one of their colleagues who claims being beaten by two soldiers in Cedros on Saturday night. PC Daniel Boodoo of the Oropouche Police Station is claiming he was struck on the head several times with a Galil rifle and kicked and beaten by the soldiers.

At the time of the incident, Boodoo’s wife and two children were with him. No one else was injured. Boodoo was taken to the Point Fortin District Hospital where he was treated and discharged.

According to a police report made to the Cedros Police Station at about 7.30 pm on Saturday, Boodoo was driving his vehicle along the Main Road in Icacos Village on his way home when he was stopped by a team of Customs and Excise officers and soldiers who were in a marked Customs and Excise vehicle. Police said Boodoo exited the vehicle on the request of the customs officer. He identified himself as a police officer and enquired as to the reason for being stopped.

An argument ensued between Boodoo and one of the soldiers, the report said, when he was struck on the head with the soldier’s Galil rifle and kicked. Police said Boodoo was then cuffed in the head. Boodoo is now on three days sick leave. Cpl Victor is investigating. No arrest has been made.

Ah yes… I can imagine it. Police duncey jumps out of car and egotistically claims to be ‘ah police’ (‘Allyuh know who I is? I’s ah police! Wey allyuh stopping meh for?’).

And the ego of the duncey soldiers respond in kind.

Now, from the above scenario I envisaged, you can tell I hold no brief for either police dunceys or soldier dunceys, because no matter who is right or wrong, this mostly likely was a bruising of ego that led to a bruising of flesh.

A mother’s pain–reposted.

On Tuesday August 17th, around 8 am, I, Nalene Anirudh, took my son, Andrew Anirudh, to the Couva Health Centre. Andrew had a fever and he was complaining of muscle aches and pain. When I arrived at the health centre, a blood sample was taken and Andrew was tested negative for Dengue virus.

However, his blood platelet count was low. After he was examined and given a bath, I was asked to give him panadol and lots of fluids and to return on Thursday the 19th of August for another blood test.

On Thursday, my sister Omatie took Andrew to the Couva Health Centre. After waiting for almost two hours, she was told that the blood testing machine was malfunctioning. Then my sister took him to a private doctor (Dr Manohar from Couva) who did the blood test. He told us to return in three hours for the results. My sister returned home and gave Andrew panadol and a bottle of water.

After 20 minutes, Andrew got up from the bed and began walking towards the bathroom, when suddenly he fainted. He was unconscious, and the ambulance was called. They arrived within seven minutes.

Then, my sister Omatie went to the Couva Health Centre with Andrew again. He was still unconscious. They arrived just after 11 o'clock am. Andrew remained there for more than two hours without being given any attention. I arrived as soon as I heard my son had fainted and was taken to the Couva Health Centre.

They told me that dengue is not an emergency case. All this while, my son was still unconscious. I finally took it upon myself to call the private doctor who confirmed that Andrew had dengue. I had to go and collect the results, and only when they saw that he was positive for dengue and that his blood count was below 100 did they react with some urgency.

One male doctor saw that I was beginning to get angry with the casual, lackadaisical approach to my son's ailment. He responded by saying, "I can't handle her!" Finally, a female doctor attended to my son after I began having an attitude and letting those taking care of my son know how disappointed I was in their response toward him.

It was the mother in me who was crying for someone to help my son. They saw me as being rude and loud, but I was watching my son lying unconscious, and my gut feeling was that this was critical. Yet, no one saw my son's condition as an emergency.

After 15 minutes of getting medical attention, my son regained consciousness. Then, he was sent to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was shown the same casual attention.

The ambulance arrived around 3pm and he was taken in the emergency area. There, he was placed on a chair and asked to wait with his IV, a urine bag, blood vial samples, and paper work in his hand. He sat there for more than three hours before he was attended to. I was not allowed to stay with him. When he collapsed again, a nurse finally came with a wheelchair, and took him inside. After 20 minutes, a doctor finally saw my son. Finally, the IV was placed on my son. I stood in the room with him.

Again, he was sent to the third floor where he was seen by a doctor. After he was placed on a chair again with his IV, urine bag, and blood sample in his hand, I was told there was no bed available. I pleaded with the doctor to help my son. He said there was no space, but he will make every effort to help my son. He advised me to give him orange juice, and he respectfully listened to me. Although he was sympathetic and understanding, again, Andrew sat on a chair for more than three hours before he was warded.

While he sat on his chair unattended, his urine bag filled. I asked the nurse for help. She said that this was a public place and she could not change it. I asked her to show me what to do so that I can empty it myself. I took my son to the bathroom and attended to him.

Then I felt better, knowing that my son was in a ward, and left the hospital knowing that he would now be given the attention he required.

When I saw my son the next morning, he looked very ill, but was happy to see me. By now, he looked very weak and was having problems taking fluids via his mouth.

Again, I pleaded to stay with my son and feed him. The mother in me, I could not leave my son in this condition. He was helpless, and I was not given permission to stay - hospital protocol!

My son was treated like an adult because he was 18 years old. Still, he cried for me to come and be with him because he could not help himself. On one occasion, my son vomited, and my son called the nurse for help. She acknowledged him and said that she will be there soon. She never came. My son remained with the vomit bag in his hand. A patient opposite from him saw that Andrew needed help and went to his assistance.

My son continued to grow weaker. I was not given any clue about my son's progress.

On Sunday, I saw some blood in the urine. On Monday, I was bathing him and saw blood flowing from his mouth. After using the bathroom, his toilet seat was bloody. I felt that something was very wrong and complained to the nurse. Then, my son was taken to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) because he was also having difficulty breathing.

In ICU, Andrew finally received much care and attention, but by now the disease had progressed to its final stage.

Before I left, the doctor took my phone number and said that he would call me if his condition worsens. My gut feel is that the doctor already knew the outcome.

On Tuesday morning, I received a phone call around 3am. My husband and I were asked to come right away to the hospital. We were allowed to stay with him until he passed away at 8.09am on Tuesday morning.

My family will never be the same again. Words cannot express the pain of losing my first-born son. I find myself crying every time I think of my son. All I have to comfort me is my faith in Christ and the memories from pictures, videos and family stories.

I am sharing my experience so that other parents can read, be informed and make life saving decisions with regards to their loved ones. If I had known this was how my loving, precious son would be treated in his greatest hour of need, I would have explored other options.

My mistake was having confidence in the health care system.

My questions for the authorities are:

How would you react if your child was shown this kind of care?

What would you do if you lost a loved one when you know that time and attention could have made a difference?

Would you take the chance in entrusting the doctors and nurses at the public hospitals to take care of your loved ones, or would you take them to private nursing homes?

How many doctors and nurses work at the public hospitals and also carry on their own private businesses?

Are their commitments to their jobs the same in both environments?

Doctors, nurses, care givers, to you it’s another day on the job. However, to the families whose loved ones are placed in your care, it’s more than a job – it’s the very essence for which they live and sacrifice.

Please treat every patient who comes to you as if he or she is your very own child or relative. Perhaps, then, you can truly learn how to show genuine care and compassion, and this, in its very self can bring hope and comfort to those who rely on your expertise.

On behalf of my family, I would like to thank everyone who supported us in our time of grief. Your outpouring of love and compassion will always be remembered, appreciated, and treasured.

Thank you ever so much.

Gratefully,

The Anirudh family

EDITOR’S NOTE: On August 20, the SWRHA's Chief Executive Officer, Paula Chester-Cumberbatch said the San Fernando General Hospital had an aggressive plan to deal with, diagnose and treat dengue victims. It included a triage system to deal specifically with dengue patients.

"Suspected dengue patients do not have to wait in line for attention.”

The SWRHA CEO said new and modern equipment had been installed at the Couva and Princes Town Health Care facilities, and that blood results could be accessed within 15 minutes.

"This new arrangement cuts down the travelling time to take the samples to the lab at San Fernando. A special team headed by the doctor in charge of infectious diseases has been assigned to monitor all activities relating to the newly-established dengue clinic."

The hospital also added 15 more beds to the medical wards to cater to the increased demand.

The link to the story is here.

Overkill?

I’m wondering why the guys (girls?) in white are all covered head to toe when the ‘crime scene’ is contaminated by everyone else…

Censored again?

In response to this letter at the Express website I posted the following:

IT is with great amazement, sometimes profound amusement, that I try to follow the reasoning of those wishing to retain the anachronism called the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as this country's final court of appeal.

One current that you have flowing through their argument is this country is somehow joined at the hip to the London-based court and we two are inseparable.

In their eyes, no future exists without the "distinguished judges'' of the British court and the fledgling Caribbean Court of Justice could never hope to supplant the esteemed Law Lords.

But like it or not, change will have to come.

The Privy Council is a court that exists at the pleasure of the British parliament. It is not financed by the Caribbean even though it is entrenched in the constitutions of various Caribbean countries which still retain its services. By a simple act of Parliament, the British can abolish the court and turn regional constitutions upside-down.

The day when it goes, and go it shall, what will be the situation of those who wish to hang on to colonial coattails?

It may not be tomorrow, next week or next year, but I would be rather surprised to see the Privy Council around in decades to come. Who knows?

In this country's case, the Privy Council is our one last colonial link to Britain.

There were many links previously, but over time they have reduced in number.

Before Independence in 1962, which the British handed to us on a platter, "Mother England'' was the centre of our world. Back then there were the naysayers opposed to Independence, predicting doom and gloom for the young nation.

Forty-eight years have gone and I don't hear anyone calling for the British to come back.

In 1976, the Queen got her marching orders. I am yet to hear any of her former loyal subjects beseeching Her Majesty to return to reign over us.

The T&T dollar was once pegged to the British pound, but that was ended, also in 1976, due to the instability of sterling. Nowadays the pound could go up, down, sideways, do a backflip and that would not merit a mention in news reports. A marked contrast to the US dollar, whose every movement is tracked closely and analysed for any effect on this country.

The once-mighty General Certificate of Education (GCE) ruled the roost in education locally, lauded by some as the gold standard of education internationally. For a long time we swallowed that myth hook, line and sinker.

It conveniently escaped our attention that the Americans did not need this "gold standard'' qualification to enter their world-leading universities of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and Princeton, which churn out Nobel laureates too many to count.

The naysayers pooh-poohed the upstart Caribbean Examinations Council certification when it emerged regionally in the 1970s, claiming it would never be as internationally accepted as the "world-renowned'' GCE.

More than 30 years have passed and the two CXC exams, CSEC and CAPE, now hold sway, by more than 20,000 annually.

GCE has now become a bit-part player, each year only a few dozen sitting its exams.

All this serves to show is that everything takes time.

The CCJ may be much maligned today in certain quarters, by those with their own agendas, but in time the region will see there is no future in the Privy Council. If it takes them five years, ten years, 15 years, 20 or more.

The British Empire is dead. Get over it.

A Charles

Mt Lambert

This is called Ignoratio Elenchi, "wherein, instead of proving the fact in dispute, the arguer seeks to gain his point by diverting attention to some extraneous fact". The writer has yet to give reasons why the Privy Council may be terminated. He instead meanders all over in his arguments of GCE, $ and £, etc. The fact of the matter is that the Privy Council, if anything has shown the legal immaturity of the courts in TnT, numerously documented at www.jumbieswatch.com. The Privy Council 'tap up' local jurists time and time again. The CAPE and CSEC exams are hardly recognised outside the Caribbean (ask students trying to get into a UK university) as is the UWI degree. If indeed the Privy Council is to be terminated, then it will be perhaps on a financial footing since Lord Phillip is on record that 40% of cases are from the Commonwealth and Caribbean countries which retain the PC. In the meantime, the Caribbean needs to attain legal maturity.

Naturally, I have yet to see the Express post my response.

It’s not White Oak

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) or as more aptly described, the duncey service, is seeking a whopping 40% increase in salary.

From my recollection, which could be wrong, a police constable (the majority of the service) receives $7000 per month or so. A 40% increase would be (approximately) $2800, bringing them up to $9800 per month. Calculate all 7000 dunceys at this figure (obviously we have corporals, sergeants, inspectors, ACPs etc.), we’d come up with a salary figure of about $82M plus per annum. Again, pointing out the obvious, with the higher ranks, this figure will be higher.

So is a request for 40% reasonable?

I don’t know. Some points to consider:

1. Police dunceys aren’t overly qualified.

• Well, the entry requirement is still 3 ‘O’ levels, but some may have 5 or more. Some do try and get degrees. Some actually have degrees. So… can we reasonably expect people like these to work for $7000 a month? Considering a nurse works for the same salary, and has the responsibility for the life or death of a patient (I’ve been told it’s the final responsibility of the doctor in Trinidad which I find a bit amazing, since nurses are actually in charge of the patients’ wellbeing the majority of the time they’re hospitalised), I find that the idea is a bit preposterous.

2. Dunceys have to face a lot of ‘danger’ in that they are exposed to life and death situations.

• Again, I’m a bit sceptical of this. Too many dunceys sit in air conditioned offices and cars and are hardly responsive to calls. We all know the story: “We have no transport!” all too well. We do have some conscientious ones but all indications are that these are the minority. We do know that perhaps the majority are corrupt and intensely so. The argument that a ‘decent’ (read ‘higher’) wage will prevent this is as solid as a fart outa my arse. Now you would are wondering why i said this… well, corruption is not so much based upon ‘need’ as ‘greed’. And we know the stories of frame-ups, beatings that go on till someone confesses… the list is endless really.

Sure, there is a lot more to be said on this topic… but in the end, the arguments will always find that 40% is a whole lot more than the dunceys deserve, I’m sure. After all, it ent White Oak.

Dodging the Privy Council 1994

The following takes us back to 1994 when Glen Ashby was hanged illegally in Trinidad & Tobago.

Really? Yes! If the highest court of the land says ‘don’t hang’ then you DON’T HANG – even if you eh like it. Well – dem fellas decided dey go do dey own t’ing. And dey get away wid it. Leh meh shut up and leh allyuh take a read. (scroll down – then click little box at right lower corner for full-screen view).

Women abusers.

A few days ago I mentioned something about this in commenting on How to spot a dangerous man.

The perception out there that women are simply victims of violence and aggression has been fading for sometime. Some argue moot points about who suffers more fatal injury etc. I purposefully avoid such a debate, because the key issue is that the female of the species is guilty of causing unrecognised suffering.

There is also some research I read a couple years ago, that women who ascend into power are more prone than men to bully. For simpletons, bullying is no longer as closely associated with the use of physical contact or intimidation (though it remains an important aspect of it), than it was 20 years ago. Bullying is the misuse of power that results in physical or psychological suffering in the context of abuse. Quote me on that. Anybody can be bullied.

“Men create more damage, but women hit more than men do.” Who said that? Please watch this video on Public Reaction to Women Abusing Men in Public.

The Greatest story ever sold?

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Reminiscing

Another from the 80’s

 

Will to Power

Paul Young

Well, la de da…

Barbarism is alive and well.

New tricks in Photoshop CS5

Howzat again?

The universe was not created by God, scientist Stephen Hawking has said in his new book.

Professor Hawking believes the laws of physics were behind the Big Bang instead, in a challenge to traditional religious beliefs. /

Professor Hawking has warned that unless the human race colonises space within two centuries it will disappear forever.

He said that our only chance for long-term survival is to move away from Earth and begin to inhabit far-flung planets.

Read more here.

Crash dummies

The ad that gave the name

You know, I’ve always been mentioning crash dummies… we have those who wear no seat belts, those who drink and drive, those who are generally arses on the road.

I’ll not comment further today. The dotishness as you can see, has its own rewards.

Rick Un-Rolled!!

Well the amazing phenomenon of Rickrolling has apparently brought back Rick Astley.

For those who don’t know see what Rickrolling is about at Wikipedia. Basically if somebody asks a dumb question you send them to some other site. The phenomenon happened to condense upon the old Rick Astley music video – ‘Never gonna give you up’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazingly though, Rick has now come out after 17 years with a new video. Back in 2008 Rick said that he wouldn’t cash in on the new found popularity. Rick having received 40 Million views on his music video above, probably had a re-think – leading to his latest un-rolling of the song/video below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Stuff Rick!!

Dunceys - need or greed?

If murdered municipal police officer Jason Thomas, 37, was paid a proper salary, he would not have had the cause to work his taxi at nights, Pastor Rolston Bodkin yesterday told scores of mourners among them, several of his colleagues.

He said, “I am asking myself if it is we can bring a Canadian to pay one hundred and something thousand dollars, why is that municipal police still working for $4,000 and $5,000. If Jason had been properly paid he might not have been working his taxi that hour of the night.”

Eh heh? This pastor is talking nonsense out of the side of his arse. Long has it be known that need is never a reason for graft and corruption, but greed. Long has it been known too that dunceys are not above receiving some sort backhanders in order not to issue tickets, charges etc. Some are not above touting themselves as guides to tourists either, would you believe?

I recall some years ago there was a certain constable patrolling Mucurapo Street, San Fernando who would casually (and in open view) take $5 from the ‘PH’ drivers to allow them to park in front of the market and hustle passengers to areas like Débé, Suchit Trace, Ramai Trace, Woodland, La Romain etc.

To all those making calls for more pay for police officers in hopes that the intense corruption will stop, you may as well be hoping for P**rick to walk on water.