TNN 110

Hello folks…an’ welcome again to we broadcast…we back again wit’ we broadcast..from Latitudes Soiuth….(deep voice)…This Is TNN…… Melody is only full ah mout…lookin’ like ah boo-boo…but we like to hear him shout…Lord Christo is very cool in life…But wen Sparrow singing…hol’ on to yuh wife….! (Sparrow…...forget de name of de song) 

Jumpstation: Too much talk; Land-ing in problems; Well done; 

De Official Cobra Travelogue- USA
(Wild) West coast.

Well, we had a little debate going on las’ week about de content of certain radio stations… apparently some people voice de view dat some people/radio stations are being overtly political (supporting a particular party) an at de same time have people on programs who are avowed racists an’ who are inciting racism. 

Now all dis supposedly goin’ on on dese “talk shows” (ay! Yuh know if America have it, we must have it!). Now it have two camps in this…... one setta people sayin’ if yuh eh like it, jus’ turn off de radio or change station an’ furthermore you cyah decide ah fella shouldn’t say somet’ing because you disagree wit’ it…...   Others sayin’ freedom of speech is not licence to say what yuh want (remember it have libel and slander laws!) an’ dat it have l’il children listening, in addition to which, some people head sorf, so whatever dey hear on radio dey does believe, an’ now yuh have people pandering to de lowest instincts an’ dat could create trouble…. 

Of course both sides have dey points (yuh see how ah fair.. ah is, ah give everybody dey chance tuh dance…!)..so wat to do?

Leh we start at de beginning…....at first it had about 2 stations on de airwaves who used to indulge in talk shows an’ call in programs…. I remember ah use tuh listen to dem sometimes because dey use to have some interesting guests an’ topics…   Now we have no less dan 20 stations on de FM band…it is laughable (so how come I still serious?!)....  De las’ survey showed that no station had more dan 8% of de listening public…

Now in one LITTLE country yuh have 20 stations on jus’ de FM band.. what yuh expeck to happen? ...everybody want ah piece of de same advertising dollar (ain’t no way I putting my advert on 20 stations!) so everybody want to attract attention…for example, it have two fellas who started ah morning program, talking about recent topics, giving opinions, sometimes having guests, etc….now all ah dem want to have “morning magazine” programs…

A couple stations start with back in times music on a particular day, all de music stations want to have ah back in times day..…same t’ing wit’ talk shows….ah couple people had it, it was successful, now every ignorant Tom, Dick ad Harrylal feel dem could host talk, give unresearched opinions, unlearned comments an’ bias interpretations. 

What we have for the most part is just gossip, ole talk and a “cacaphony of sound”… ah mean, man eh have time to research nothin’….dey jus’ jumpin’ up an’ talkin’…  My concern is for de young people who listening to dis nonsense and will believe dat dat is true broadcastn’….! 

Gone are de days when men used to make sure what dey say was researched an’ could stan’ up to scrutiny….  gone are de days when yuh could put on yuh radio station an’ come away informed.. gone are de days when broadcasters had a fair mastery of basic ENGLISH!   Now it have some talkin’ in Jamaican accent , playin’ one setta Jamaican music or have ah Eh-Merican DJ accent!   What de hell goin’ on?!   An’ if dat is de way we goin’, I say mash brakes an’ mash it fast!   When man come wit’ stupid race or divisive talk, t’row dem out or put dem on at 1-2 A.M. …leh people wit’ insomnia listen to dem…dey go cure dem quick! 

Of course it always have some who espousing free speech but under dis guise dey usin’ de airwaves to spark trouble among de not so informed…how come Germany (a democracy, ban all groups with Neo Nazi ideals or roots? How come Europe tell Belgium(?) ah cyah remember which country it was now…dat if ah separatist, racist was re-elected, dey trowin’ dem outta de European Union?  Dem eh free countries too?  But we have to balance t’ings….

If your freedom of speech is likely to lead to social disinegration or civil unrest, den ah dam well will censor yuh! Freedom is not license! So some advertisers say dey pullin’ out from radio ststions who encouragin’ dem kinda t’ing… an’ is dem money, so me eh vex wit’ dem…  If de radio station want to continue, dey could do it, but NOT wit’ my funding! 

Since when standing up for decency, respect, civility and honesty is ah act of treason?  An’ ah not ah fool, ah could tell de difference between informed protest an’ de ramblings of ah idiot!   An’ what I hearin’ most of de time is de latter…

So for my part, let dem squawkers “air’ de views elsewhere…..not on de airwaves.. if yuh vex, open yuh own radio station! 

Editor's view:  Let free speech and market forces of society prevail once it doesn't interfere with someone's civil rights!  

Let everyone be able to voice their opinions, no matter what it is.  The fact that radio stations are funded by advertisers whose money comes from sales of products sold to consumers, brings to the fact that consumers are the ones who have the final say.  

If I, as a consumer realise that the maker of my favourite laundry detergent is using company money to advertise on a program that is spewing hate and anarchy, then, if I am against such thinking, I will stop buying that manufacturer's product.  In a logical society, other people will have the same views as me and will also stop buying that product.  In the end, that manufacturer, realising the drop in sales as well as the letters of disgust sent to it's corporate office will stop advertising on the said program. The program will eventually cease to exist.

That's how a free market and a free society works!

Comments to the editor can be sent to greymatter@mindless.com

LAND-ING IN PROBLEMS...

Well, yes….our honourable PM strikes again…. all de election polls say he ahead, so he decide he want ah photo finish, he like excitement! 

Good ole Papatrick, two and ah half weeks ago, make de announcement dat he giving land to de Muslimeem group led by Abu (Ah Boo Boo) Bakr.  For those of us wit’ short memories, dis was de group dat attempted a coup in 1990 and in which 24 people were killed in de ensuin’ melee.. dey coveting ah piece of land long time now dat adjacent to dey compound.  Ah couple years back, dey decide to go an’ set up camp… De den government led by Bas put up ah fence an’ deploy de Army to stop dem…an’ dey back dong (I applauded de move…Ah Boo Boo to damn boldface!). 

Since den, dey vex….dey go to court for de lan’.. de court say dey eh have no right to it…dey appeal de decision… it get strike dong… dey file for judicial review, so dat still in de courts.. so to all an’ sundry, dat lan’ next door, de 3 acres near de waterfront…..is NOT yours! 

Less dan ah month before elections Pathos decide to gi’ dem de land to “bring closure to de issue”..  What issue, what closure? Is not dem land…. case closed!  Well, one storm hit Pathos…..people was up in arms, dey want to know what Pathos drink de night before?!  How yuh could jus’ pick up lan’ an’ give it to dem people? For what purpose? For all dey service to de public?! 

Man, it get so bad, Pathos run back an’ take back de lan’, sayin’ dey had not signed anything, so de deal off…..  Of course when he make de first announcement he didn’t have no setta party people around him, but when he want to change he mind, he make ah whole setta dem line up behin’ him for “moral support”….  

Man ah woulda leave he tail to stew!  Yuh went in alone wit’ yuh stupidity… yuh comin’ out alone (if yuh come out atall!). 

Well, Bas hol’ on to dat like ah dog wit’ ah bone… he say PNM supportin’ terrorists!  He say Pathos criminalising de government!  He say Ah Boo Boo go be de nex’ Security Minister… alllll kinda rhethoric…. nothing based in fact or evidence of course…... dat wouldn’t be right….! 

Pathos had indicated that he would accept votes from anybody.. even from de Muslimeem, if dey want to vote for de party… well Bas say dat is why he get de lan’…. land for votes! 

Now in all dis I askin’ myself…. if I want land, what do I do?  Hmmm.. I BUY or LEASE it…  De government doh GIVE me lan’… even squatters have to pay for de lan’ when dey get regularised.. so who is Ah Boo Boo?! 

Yuh want de lan’, buy or lease it like everybody else… what was Pathos NOT thinkin’, when he make dat decision…  De whole UNC platform for de past two weeks have someth’ing to say on dat…big full page ads in de papers sayin’ Ah Boo Boo in control of de government… amusin’ to all but fanatics who will believe everything Bas say, because is HE who say it….

Personally I cyah see why de Press does rush to give Ah Boo Boo any coverage… lef' de man alone; if he eh break de law, he an’ he group have normal human rights like everybody else (they went through de courts, etc and dat matter close….) …..if he break de law, squash him like ah ant… simple solution! 

WELL DONE.....

If alyuh eh know yet, Peter Minshall (Minsh) get ah Emmy Award dis year for set design for de Ice Skating Olympics…

Man ah feel good when ah read dat, because it only show what ah tellin’ dem so called mas men all de time…. take yuh time an’ design somet’ing intelligent…  Minsh design for de Atlanta Olympics, de Barcelona Games, Bastille Day in France, Ice Skating, ah mean, you name it an’ de man design for it…yet he cyah win ah Band of de Year title, which mean it mus’ have better designers here…  So how come none of dem does get pick? 

The answer to dat is kinda simple, but complex…. De other Band of de Year People does follow all de rules an’ make sure dey pass all de venues..  Minsh does start off late and if he try to cross all dem venues after, wit’ all dat congestion, rest assured, 12 midnight is when yuh go cross dat las’ one..  

So I agree wit Minsh, how many we cross, we cross….. is not my fault de Carnival (Lack of) Development Committee cyah organise ah street parade after nearly 100 years of Carnival!  De sad t’ing is dat de bes’ designed band doh win, but because of de prestige of playin’ wit’ ah “winnin’” band, dey dere on de street again nex’ year wit’ de same bikini, but different colours….!  But truth will out, as dey say.. de race is not for de fastes’, but he who endures to de end!   Up to now, nobody eh ask dem “masmen” to design ah tile! 

On ah slightly different slant, Lloyd Best was also honoured at de University of the West Indies with a two day lecture series which examined his contribution to Caribbean economics, politics and social awareness. 

Some big sarwatis was dey boy!  Plenty talk, but, for a change, entertaining and useful talk…. Lloydy really fight for decades to see de Caribbean reach somewhere… he read, he write, he teach, he work for international agencies (UN and World Bank, etc..) but ah prophet is never accepted in he own country (except when he near to dead or dead!.. Dat is my addition!). 

Lloydy always trying to tell we that standard economics and political structures eh go work in de Caribbean... all ah dem was imported and we expect we people to fit into dem.... we have to learn to borrow what is useful, discard what is not and invent de res’.. but everybody here is ah smartman, nobody eh want to t’ink, every politician t’ink de small man stupid and power have ah way of corruptin’ people once dey reach in certain places! 

Lloydy came out of ah era of revolution, de Independence movements, the New World Order, men like Nehru, Nkrumah, Nyere, an’ on de Caribbean side, Arthur Lewis, Eric William, Bustamante, Manley, men who had visions of new societies, new images, pride in deself an’ in dey people, willing to work and forge somet’ing from dey own creativity and sweat… not now! 

All we intellectuals want nice jobs and wondering how best to “adapt “ to globalisation…. dem eh even care if globalistion, good , bad or indifferent, dey aligning deyself wit’ America and hiding behin’ dey petticoat… once de West bark, dey cower….tail between dey leg…no gumption, no guts, no vision, no creativity…poor t’ings! 

An’ who could get out, gone! Greener pastures….. no matter dey get dey on de shoulders of dis society!  When dey abroad, what happen home, damn well happen… even dey accent gone….! Dey cyah dance ah lil kaiso again, dey forget national dance, bird, flower and anthem…. how sad!  No acknowedgement of roots….

Well Lloydy coulda be ah “successful” politician” (he had brain and many ah dem try to get him), he coulda work outside and make money, he coulda say he eh frustratin’ heself wit’ dem “backward” people, but he stay here, he fight up wit’ de system.  He used to go around wit’ he new bulletin under he arm peddling to people to try and uplift dey vision….. dat is man!  

An’ like dem people use to say, “yuh cyah get better dan Best”! 
 

De Official Cobra Travelogue- USA…
 

(WILD) WEST COAST.....

Well continuing wit’ meh travel series in de ole USA…. Yuh remember las’ week ah tell alyuh how ah leave sweet TnT and head up to NY, spen' ah day an’ was heading for California? Well de story continues….

Yuh boy lan’ in California in de dusk….get t’rough de airport easy (was ah domestic flight) an’ meet meh people outside de terminal (after ah little wait!).  So ah now realisin’ dat de sun takin’ kinda long to set…. oh shucks!… is summer….. okay.... till 8:30 in de night t’ings still bright..

When ah finally gone to bed, ah say, yes boy, ah getting’ up tomorrow an’ take ah l’il walk or run round de neighborhood, scope out de place, nah….see “how de land lies”.  

Well I get up all excited and step outside an’ is because one setta white t’ing surround meh…! Ah say Oh Lord....somewhere burnin’ dong.. but it eh smellin’ like smoke.... is when de chill hit meh ah realise is mist huggin’ meh like ah blanket…in California….in August! 

Is den meh host come wit’ some story dat de Pacific close by an’ is ah kinda cold ocean , so dey does get mist sometimes an’ is only since I come dis happen….so is ME who bring it, den…?! Yeah, eh-heh…  Anyway to cut ah long story short, ah do real driving around an’ sightseein’… dey ask meh if ah want to drive, ah say, no t’anks.... Americans cyah drive as good as me, dem does follow road rules an’ dem go get me in accident, so I cool in de back seat! 

Man, ah see beach like ah never see before... ah sure dat beach runnin’ right up de west coast to Alaska.. an’ wide!…no end in sight…!

Downtown Los Angeles… nice, but not de tall skyscrpers of New York, ..remember t’ings ah little “shaky” in LA, eh…..if yuh know what ah mean…. which is why all de house made from wood….de last t’ing yuh want is ah concrete block fallin’ on yuh head when de earth decide to roll over…!  

But dem buildingsi n LA far apart , boy.. yuh know in NY everyt’ing choke up-choke up…?  Well, yuh have tuh plan to move from one building to de nex’… man weather could change while yuh moving between buildings…! Oh gorm…build dem t’ings closer nah! 

So we had to use car to see de town… ah see Chinatown too…. Chinese like noodles in soup!  Even de signs in Chinese!  Ah see de Lakers' arena, but me eh buy no souvenirs…. now if dey had ah souvenir of de West Indies cricket team.. yeah!  Meh han’ was goin’ in meh pocket! 

An’ as yuh step outside de city, is desert to yuh nennen…. doh play yuh shuttin’ down on dem highways, because gas stations few an’ far between….. but de lanscaping was real good even wit’ all de cactus dem.. yuh eh getting’ bored…  Ah hear dey had to pipe water form quito–quite to bring it dong dis side..  In TnT, we have flood in dry season, but we still have dry taps (an’ somebody go an’ build ah Desalination Plant… but leh we eh discuss dat here…!)

Den I discover one of de strangest t’ings…yuh know in TnT yuh have ah backyard or kitchen garden by yuh house?  Well sah, on dis side yuh have to go to ah specific place, buy a 20’ x 20’ foot plot, plant yuh garden and de distance between you an’ yuh backyard garden could be 12 or more miles!   Suppose yuh want ah pepper quick to t’row in ah callaloo…?  What is your position?  How yuh could sell ah house without ah l’il yard space self? Is cockroach yuh housin’ or what? Out foute!

Of course ah had was to see de famous Hollywood Blvd. …. theatres, shops, people performin’ in de streets, Walt Disney, eateries….. you name it, it have it in dat blvd.  Basically it remind meh of ah wide, clean Charlotte Street!  Even de Americans was tourists dey…. people runnin’ around snappin’ pictures (why? Yuh doh remember what yuh look like?!), gawkin’, grinnin’….. ah nice atmosphere… 

But it have anodder seedy side of tong nearby.... man tell meh, if yuh car shut dong get out an’ run!  Or make sure yuh car workin’ good if yuh drivin’ through de neighbourhood…. an’ drive fas’!   Ah tell dem de Cobra fears no one….an’ I so cool, I go mellow dem if dey decide to brace meh….  

An’ of course it have de little section where yuh could buy ANYTHING for ah price…. ah see some stores sellin’ some outfits dey, if I was ah woman, ah wouldn’t wear dat even in meh bedroom.. dey tell meh dat is for some types of “night life”….. Ohooooooo…but pink 8" spindle heels!  Yuh is ah stork or what? Or very short?

Of course dis was de first time ah see de Pacific Ocean, so ah had to dip meh foot in it….. an’ no more!  Somebody drop ice cubes in dat sea?! Trust me, dat water eh no Las Cuevas or Maracas, an’ I see people frollickin’ like pig in mud in dat…. ah happy for dem!

An' oh, de home of wines.. de California vineyards….. ah didn’t see dem, but ah taste dey products… several times..!   Now, I eh no wine connoisseur or drinker, I used to meh mango, sorrel, passion fruit, guava, cashew and odder sweet local Trini wines…. my mout’ eh make for no extra dry wine or wine wit’ “bouquet” an’ all dat…... ah have ah uncultured palate.. so if de wine bubbly, cheap and semi sweet, dat is good wine for me! Talk done! 

An’ ah find dey fruits too sweet boy, all dem nectarines, peaches, strawberries.  I eh dig up too much wit’ dat.. ah prefer meh pommecythere, mango, plum, soursop, etc….. dem fruits have character! Dem eh jus’ sweet! Matter of taste I suppose……at least de food was cheap and fresh…..give dem dat….

Well I consider dat week well spent……Californians.... what ah could say about dem?....dey nice.. not too talkative, and I guess dey doh have too much time to communicate because de place so big, yuh always driving to reach somewhere, yuh could never jus’ put on ah short pants an’ stroll dong de road….. unless yuh goin’ by yuh nex’ door neighbour!

Ah do ah l’il shopping in some of de Malls (not much!) an’ den it was time to head back to New York for meh nex’ leg of de trip….  Ah unexciting flight back, but ah meet ah nice Philippino lady an’ we chat ah lot.... she even len meh de book she was reading….boy, I could make frens wit’ ah stone! (Leh meh pat mehself on de back for dat!) 

Ah lan’ in JFK, had to wait forever for meh luggage, we almost had to pretend we had car trouble because de guard insist meh fren couldn’t wait for meh outside de American Airline area (yeah, ah callin’ name!).  Talk ‘bout chaos… ah hope dey finish rennovate dat airport quick!)..then it was off to DC, Maryland, Virginia.. de famous tri-state area.. you nex’!


N.B. Look out on Friday for a special commentary on de elections…i.e. what dey sayin’ on de platforms… some of it funny, most of it very forgettable!  Remember Elections Day is Monday, so ah go tell first who win….. show meh yuh votin’ finger!

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Dat’s all for dis week folks…remember any queries, questions, comments, hail outs etc… jus’ write to we anchorman Cobra at ttcobra1@hotmail.com an’ we go get back to yuh… Take care, alyuh, ah gone….Peace….. Ah li ki ting …… Ah li ki ting…..Ah li ki ting…..Ah li ki ting…..me an’ meh dustbin cover….. (Crazy…Dustbin Cover)