It is easy to fall into the trap of regarding what we grew up with as the norm, and dismissing the standards of successive generations as being slack, immoral and tasteless, yet most of us are swept along with the tide and imperceptibly seduced by it.

Sex features in so many films because it is a fact of life: everybody does it, has done it or is looking forward to doing it, and since it is a guilty pleasure to so many, the filmmakers will slip some in for us.

Increasingly they’re doing so right at the start of the film, presumably to convince us immediately that there is going to be an earthy element in this visual entertainment, because as we’re always hearing, our attention span is getting shorter all the time and if we don’t get what we want pretty quickly we’re liable to look for it somewhere else.

One amusing way of looking at sex scenes is to try to work out what went on at the contract-signing stage, where the director said to the actress, “Your character is going to be getting her rocks off a bit.

Are you happy with that?” The lady’s response can probably be gauged by the amount of actual nudity that appears. If her answer was “You’re not filming me without underwear,” we may end up with one of those scenes where the couple come to the sweaty end of a romp only to tumble out of bed wearing things that would have made their supposed interaction impossible. So the term, “leave it to your imagination” proves to be still alive and kicking.

On the other hand, over the Christmas period I came across several family films in which the kids (actors) witnessed some adult private time and weren’t shocked or appalled at all.

Then we started watching a TV series, The Affair, in which the sex is apparently designed to raise eyebrows, from unlikely outdoor locations such as suburban driveways to anatomically implausible couplings. I’m just waiting for the one later in the run where they do it while riding a bicycle.

The artist’s desire to shock is as old as the creative process itself, and it is one of the mantras of the 21st century that we should “push boundaries”. Film-makers have certainly done that with violence – almost nothing is considered too vile for us to see these days, to the extent that we are left to self-censor.

I read recently that Wes Craven, director of Nightmare on Elm Street and other scary numbers, had actually walked out of a screening of Reservoir Dogs because he couldn’t take the violence. The film’s director and writer Quentin Tarantino was vastly amused, and it has to be said that most of the violence in his films, and indeed most shoot-emup movies, is done in an unrealistically casual way. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is open to discussion.

Anyone who grew up on a filmic diet of westerns in which everybody had a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it will probably agree that it didn’t do them any harm, and that the poor, misguided souls who actually use guns to settle scores in real life are driven by something other than the desire to imitate what they see on the screen.

This is a serious issue in Trinidad, which is like a modern Wild West, but in a grimly real way, rather than through the softening lens of history and fictionalization.

If life really does imitate art, we can only hope that gun and knife crime on screen will eventually go the way of sexual violence, which in the mainstream entertainment world is no longer tolerated or regarded as mere titillation. You only have to go back as far as Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns in the 1960s and 70s to see how necessary the change was. In some of these the mysterious stranger would ride into town, lonely and frustrated after days in the saddle, and blithely force himself on a woman. And he was still regarded as a hero.

Nowadays, for all the casual depictions of sex, at least they are consensual, and anything that isn’t that way is clearly shown as wrong.

It may be unrealistic and even undesirable to expect the world to return to the innocence and primness of Victorian times, but a sudden burst of collective compassion would not go amiss.

The dire warnings of respected economists must have informed the negotiations between the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) leaders, government officials, and the Petrotrin management.

A heavily indebted and unprofitable company forced to its knees amidst the threat of a national scarcity of fuel, the vexed discussion of possible devaluation, employee layoffs and further social instability was the nightmare that loomed large in the discussions of the small man and the country’s management alike.

It is significant there were no reports of panic buying of fuel and the general feeling was that the Petrotrin workers themselves seemed either reluctant to strike or felt that somehow the proposed strike action would be avoided.

The public registered its outrage both at what they perceived as the unreasonable demands of the union management at a time of economic downturn and at the suffering that they would have to endure on a daily basis. The agreement on a five percent wage increase for the 2011-2014 bargaining period signals a reprieve from the threatened industrial action, but there remains the question of an agreement for the 2014-2017 period. It is hoped that the Industrial Court will propose a solution, which will be fair to the workers and to the company where they earn a livelihood.

Justice will, in fact, be served if citizens can feel satisfied that present and further wage increases will be met with greatly increased productivity as promised by OWTU leader Ancel Roget.

In addition, they will be more accepting of the need to sustain a company if it eradicates practices that have led to charges, in the public domain, of corruption and gross mis-management.

Trinidad and Tobago must demand that public companies, government officials and any other institution that are funded by the public purse be efficient, effective and serve the needs of the people.

Jesus’ baptism, a feast we celebrated last Monday on the day after the Feast of the Epiphany, offers us important reminders on how we are to live as disciples of Jesus in today’s world. His perfect obedience and humility, his recognition and acceptance of his role as exemplar and selfless leader should shine like a beacon in an era when the thirst for power, and for self-glorification seem to be the order of the day.

Our recognition of the cut-and-thrust aspect of life in the modern world does not absolve our people and our leaders from the duty to espouse and embody the principles of justice and true patriotism.

This is our country, our patrimony and so it must remain for us all.

Blinded by dollars and with no thanks for being employed in one of the highest paid state sectors, the union jefes must now see the position of Petrotrin.

For national disdain is worse than political persuasion.

Petrotrin should command patriotism, a prime piece of national pride being devoured by cavernous pound of flesh leaders.

In this country once there is a belief that it is a state agency or provided for by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago/tax-payers for example Pan Trinbago or Petrotrin, it simply means plenty for little, in stark contrast to presidential wines, however.

Mediocrity is tolerated at all levels in this country, appraisals from captain to cook must begin.

This PM has already made pronouncements on this to the Protective Services, so now in keeping with his deliberate leadership he must now insist on his assembled team, his cabinet to not major in minor things.

COLIN FORTUNE Arima

Starting early his tenure, with the on the field fallout between the then coach and himself.

Then there was the firing of coach Hart and the almost onemonth delay in naming a coach.

One would think that if the coach was fired then an immediate appointment would be made even if it is in the interim, particularly with the then pending Caribbean Cup playoff. Then the coaching job was given to an unknown and the embarrassment towards that coach for the world to see with reference to letting him know that he would be out of a job if results were not positive after the two upcoming World qualifiers.

Why is it that coach Hart was not left in charge at least until the Caribbean Cup playoff and a decision made then. Now that coach Saintfiet has resigned, with World Cup qualifiers just around the corner, Trinidad and Tobago football cannot be in a good place. To me, Williams and those at the helm of local football have made too many unforced errors and should follow Saintfiet.

A PIERRE Marabella

The acting CoP must be given full support and commendation for his act of prowess. He has set the stage for action in other governmental departments. To move forward there must be reform and revolution. To bake a cake, eggs must be broken. It cannot be business as usual.The world is experiencing reality checks and for our very present survival and preparation for our young ones we must take stock and embrace change. Inertia and the Peters Principle we cannot be saddled with.

Reality does not get entangled in schism and dogma.

Our laxity had been masked and buoyed by high oil prices.

We lapsed into a false sense of security with dotish talk such as “God is a Trini”.

Well, hey, gone are the hay days. Incisive thinking and intuitive vision are required from our leaders. Individuals must stop making a trade out of delusion where the truth is the first casualty. We must all put our shoulders to the wheel and recreate that paradise lost. It will require genius, grit and guts but we can make it…. if we try.

SAHADEO RAGOONANAN via email

In addition to undertaking an analysis of the demographic, psychological and criminogenic circumstances surrounding murders and then dealing with them – which lead to long term solutions, a key recommendation is that of ensuring there are appropriate consequences and they are implemented.

First, we have to ensure that the penalty for murder, which is death by hanging in TT , is implemented after a complete and fair criminal trial with the appeals, etc within the stipulated five-year time frame. The entire criminal justice system must be on board with this. The legislators in Parliament must play their critical part too.

If murderers know that they can be prosecuted, convicted and executed within the five-year time frame, it’s more likely that this can be a deterrent.

We must recognise that a decision to engage in crime is a psychological matter. Other than those who are insane temporarily or permanently, all other murderers make a decision to kill another person.

They also know that there is an almost 100 percent chance that they will not suffer the death penalty. They have the upper hand on this crime. We need to ensure that murderers are properly executed.

If murderers know for sure that they will be executed, it will serve as a deterrent. Don’t be fooled; many of those murderers are afraid to die via state execution.

The very thought of the ritual of walking to be put to death by hanging with an audience can be enough to be a deterrent! Further, we need to move into the direction of having various classifications of murders, eg, first degree, second degree, etc.

And let us agree on the range of punishments for these various levels of murder with probably the death penalty for first degree murders, life imprisonment for second degree murders, etc.

This is not reinventing the world.

Other jurisdictions have done it, so why do we feel that it cannot be done in Trinidad and Tobago.

Human beings are afraid of physical pain unless they have some serious psychological disorder.

We should also consider prescribing corporal punishment alongside the death penalty. It can be an appetizer before the main course. If potential murderers know that they will be whipped with the cat o’ nine tails as well, we are almost certain that this can be a deterrent.

Murder is a very gruesome crime where there’s no recuperation by the victim. There’s the need also for the murderer to feel similar or worse pain and suffering.

For some crimes, we can entertain rehabilitation, etc. But for murder, where you take away the life of an individual, where proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it is person A, B or C, that person should suffer badly. And, that’s the only way we can expect a reduction in murders in the short term.

IAN RAMDHANIE via email

The current government is in favour of raising the age for children to get married to eighteen and we have opinions from temporary opposition senators who are against such. They argue that their religious texts outlined earlier ages for marriage and they will like to stick to it, hundreds and thousands of years after.

Where are the voices of the ordinary citizens on this matter? It would have been most appropriate if a legal system like a referendum would have captured these views from the masses to inform policy and law. After all, the laws should be there to represent the views of the majority.

If I am to guess, the vast majority of persons would support raising the age to eighteen years; even the majority of those very same religious bodies.

It will be interesting to find out from those very same elderly gentlemen, how many of them married off their daughters and sons and even nieces and nephews under the age of eighteen.

STEPHEN SINGH via email

HWO president Brenda Gopeesingh also noted the organization had not rescinded its position as had been claimed by a temporary Senator during the Senate debate on January 11. “We have not rescinded our position,” Gopeesingh stated and noted that its final statement on the Marriage Acts of Trinidad and Tobago was submitted to the Attorney General’s Office on July 20.

2016 and took the form of a position paper with the heading “Interrogating marriage for 14 year-olds”. “Our position, articulated since 2012 in the resolution coming out of the Marriage Act Public Discussions held by the organisation that year, is that the Marriage Acts should be updated to reflect the age of consent for sexual relations,” the HWO stated, adding a resolution had been presented to the Minister of Legal Affairs in 2013.

with its petition to amend the Marriage Acts. The organization noted that in 2015, the age of consent for sexual relations was changed to 18 years through the Children’s Act which also included a “Romeo clause” and the HWO was compelled to submit a revised resolution to update its position regarding girls between 16 and 18 to be married. This included several factors including: [a] consent from the girl as well as the consent of her parent(s) or guardian (s); [b] that female parents have equal rights of consent; [c] After parties wishing to be married have received pre-marital counselling by qualified professional counsellors. After an application is made to a judge in Chambers or a specially appointed committee by the President of the Republic in order to determine the circumstances of each case; [e] Only after it is determined that the person to whom the 16- 18 year old girl is to be married is not undertaking the marriage for purposes of exploitation and [f] In cases where the person to whom the 16-18 year old girl is to be married is no older than three (3) years her senior at the time of marriage. UNC chairman David Lee yesterday said its two temporary senators.

Dr Waffie Mohammed and Pundit Maharaj, had expressed the views of their respective organizations and not that of the Opposition party. “They weren’t representing the views of the UNC,” Lee said, adding.

“what we wanted to do is.

we felt that when we did our research.

we didn’t feel that there was enough consultation held by the Attorney General prior to laying the Marriage Bill so we decided to give a voice to these organizations that we felt had not been heard and that is why we brought them in as temporary senators.”

Singh, managing director of Amsure Trinidad and Tobago Ltd, yesterday told members of the media that on January 11, at about 9.45 am, two members of the Police Service walked into her Piarco Plaza office armed with guns, wearing bulletproof vests, and demanded to speak to her.

“They came here because a complaint was made against the organisation with reference to a staff (member) not being paid on time…

There was the option to discuss, in a very amicable way, whatever the concern was, but no,” she explained.

Singh said she was not on the compound at the time, however two of her employees called her “frantically” saying that one of the officers threatened to arrest Singh and take her to the police station if she did not pay $500 supposedly owed to the former employee.

Singh said the former employee was hired in November 2016, and resigned this month, and that the money was being withheld until an external accountant reviewed several issues.

However, she said the problem was that one of the officers, who she later learned was a friend of the former employee and not attached to the Piarco or Arouca districts, intimidated and traumatised her staff, and used his status as a police officer to bully others in an industrial matter.

Singh stressed that organisations have measures and channels to deal with such matters and said it was simply wrong for a police officer to “ambush” her employees without knowing the whole story.

“Their motto is to protect and serve, not to intimidate using your police authority conveniently to get whatever need be. This is not a criminal matter. I think for all businesses across the nation, this has to be stopped,” said Singh.

“If it is they can go out of their jurisdiction to come here to try to demand $500, what else can they do? This has to stop. There is supposed to be some sort of law that protects my civil and human rights, which was violated,” she continued.

Singh said although she did not make a report with the TT Police Service, she reported the matter to the Police Complaints Authority.

Cedros councillor Shankar Teelucksingh, in a telephone interview yesterday, said the situation could have been avoided had repairs to a bridge and flood-gate in the Bonasse/Cedros area been completed.

“Due to spring tides we are having, salt water or sea water is coming up that main drain and running straight to all the other linked drains in the Bonasse district causing flooding in almost six streets with almost 50 residents being affected by that salt water,” Teelucksingh said.

“Floods used to happen before but not as bad because it was controlled by the flood gate and the contractor came down and they removed one part of the flood gate and if that project had finished, it would have prevented this salt water from coming up the main drain in Cedros,’ He said residents, as well as a team from the Siparia Regional Corporation spent the past few nights attempting to reopen the flood-gate to release the salt water that had become trapped after the tides had receded.

“People yards are in a terrible condition,” he said, adding, “salt water is not like rain water so when it dry, a stench is emanating from that salt water, it’s giving off a mangrove smell, and businesses are being affected by it,’ he said.

He said the salt water can also cause significant damage to vehicles and residents were either forced top leave their vehicles at home and not drive along the flooded streets or take them to higher ground when the tides began to rise.

Meanwhile, a rough seas bulletin was issued by the Met Service yesterday stated that sea conditions were expected to intensify over the next 24 hours due to northerly swells which is attributed to a disturbance in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Last evening, sea water also affected motorists using the South Trunk Road as high tides led to flooding from the Mosquito Creek.