Scary Lawyer

The Cap had some time yesterday to take een dee Enquiry into CL Financial and HCU.

I had to laugh though it was a serious matter. Haranarine’s lawyer Farid Scoon was grilling Sunita Ragoonanan – I mean really grilling. I saw no need for his manner and tone. All I could wonder is eef he feel he was in an American lawyer movie from back in dee 70’s. See Lawyer Scares off Witness – TT Express 2011-07-07.

He was crass, repetitive, mocking and patronising in my observations. His conduct was intent on causing intimidation of Sunita. I must say that Sunita held her own very well. She basically ignored Mr Loudmouth (i.e. Scoon). She bat him for 6! But lesser people than Sunita might have been shitting bricks in their seat.

I was disappointed that SIR ANTHONY COLMAN QC, did not pull up Scoon’s socks for his manner. Surely eef Scoon was behaving like that in England I would expect that he would have been given a dressing down.

Another thing I couldn’t understand, Scoon was no more than about 6 feet from Ragoonanan, so why dee ass he have to be shouting like dat? Now, I not in court so I could use words like ‘arks’, ‘dat’, ‘deese’ etc – but Scoon seemed to lack insight muchless for decorum. He was talking like eef he in a rumshop. What a blasted shame. Ah mean dee world could be looking een on dis.

Mrs Walker is dong on dee Rock at dee moment for a short visit. A barrister herself, she was cringeing at Scoon’s use of language and his manner (we were both watching live and commenting to each other over Google chat). Tell yuh dee truth – we would be shame to be considered Trinidadians – if anyone from the international community who had seen Scoon in action, met us. 

Today I most certainly keeping meh head low and speaking in an Indian accent, oui.

What do they know

The Cap enjoys the seaside very much, as you can imagine. This pic immediately below was taken at the Aberdeen shoreline, where I visited on 13-14th June 2011. It held a certain strange fascination for me. I looked down on these barnacles, waiting for the water to wash up on them.

They would live, reproduce and die, oblivious to the world around them, or the complexity of the heavens above, or that someone was looking down on them.

Their lives are so simple compared to mine. “Would I trade places with them if given the chance?” I wondered.

My thoughts were interrupted by a splash of water against my feet.

I retreated. I walked and looked around. What a view.

And I thought of my life in the same way I looked upon the lowly barnacle. And then I thought, “There is so much up there that I don’t know about, so much I will never know about.”

I was motivated to publish this by Leonard Susskind, a renowned physicist who probes the deeper nature of reality.  He’s been called the bad boy of physics. In essence he was recently said that reality may forever be beyond the reach of our understanding. See Scientific American 2011-06-22. In a sense there’s nothing new in that. But somehow that sobering thought resonated with my experience of the barnacles. They too were limited in  ‘understanding’ the reality around them.

What do they know – is also to ask ‘what do we know’.

Banking red tape… Or stupidity? Part two

This is a continuation of the episode at Royal Bank, Carlton Centre.

On Monday of this week, I went in to collect my cheque after closing off my accounts. Last week I was told to go directly to Miss Roopan and not wait in any line. That is what I did. When I entered the bank she was dealing with customers… A woman and her son. All well and good.

Twice during their transactions the son had to leave to go out for documents. Both times he took approximately 20 minutes to get back. Each time Miss Roopan stood there (doing nothing), looking at me standing just behind the customers and did not acknowledge me. After one and a half hours of waiting the previous customers finally left. I went up to the counter and she immediately asked me whether I came for my cheque. I responded in the affirmative.

Whereupon she opened a drawer in her desk and handed me an envelope. I enquired whether I had to sign anything to acknowledge receipt. She responded in the negative. The entire transaction took less than 30 seconds.

My question now is: if it was that simple, why on both occasions that the young chap left the bank, Ms Roopan did not ask for excuse and call me to the counter to hand me the cheque? Why keep me waiting for one and a half hours? No one at that bank seems capable of independent thought. I am glad I have gotten rid of the RBTT banking morons!

When people complain of customer service in Trinidad and Tobago, my new question is - "what customer service?"

Steupsssss!!

Well yes – allyuh animals dong dey never fail to amuse me nuh.

A pardners on facebook was rejoicing how he reach back home – on a plane nuh – at 3AM in dee morning.

So I responded: “Jess doh head for dee beach at dat time unless you wanna get raped and buggered: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,143194.html.” Who tell me say dat. Well ah uhman (aka woman) responded to dat with, “steupsssss”.

Ah guess I said dee wrong t’ing. Perhaps I’m meant to join in an’ sing how nice it is to be back on allyuh blasted Rock. Well, allyuh know dat would only happen on a cold day in hell!!

So – “steupssssss!!” back to all ah allyuh!!!

Thought for tomorrow

“Freedom of expression is an empty right unless it includes expression that some people may find offensive"

- Richard Collins, Professor of Media Studies – at the Open University

What I tell yuh?

As I predicted, Sasha Mohammed has escaped censure. Had P**rick employed me as his prophet he might have still remained as Prime Minister/Executive President elect. (^_^)