For just about four minutes Rudder has has listeners anticipating where he will go next.

Some of the lyrics in the song reads: “Welcome to the place where all we talk about is race.

Race to the rum shop, race to the mas camp, race to pelt some waist.” Rudder uses straight calypso as you hear the long-time vibes with a modern beat. A haunting guitar solo and soothing bass line keep you gripped to the music.

More of the lyrics (not in any order) tell of “Welcome to Trinidad where half the country mad, Land of the freest free, shots will fire waist will pelt when we hear a soul calypso.

Prayers and feteing is partners we have we own reality down here one and one could be 11 that is the culture you see.

This is lawless La Trinity, Talking about Trinidad here we have the goods and the bad.

Rudder says his song is just a reflection of the society today.

However, says Nicolin Moore of the Arima Lions Club, “I think Chancellor Corlew was impressed with the US anthem being played on the pan, and even tried his hand on the instrument.” Moore is one of six international directors elected in June 2016 serving the US and the Caribbean on the international board.

During the one-day visit, the very pleasant visitor and his wife Lion Dianne Corlew, ended a very tight itinerary at a cocktail reception in the Queen’s Hall foyer, attended by visiting lions from Multiple District 60 which stretches from Cayman in the North to Suriname in the South. Six new Lions were inducted by Corlew who said, “they could be the newest Lions in the world” as he placed the pins on their lapels. This worldwide organisation, founded by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones, 100 years ago, serves over 200 countries with 1.4 million Lions in over 47,000 clubs.

Corlew, retired Chancellor for the State of Tennessee, USA, and a law professor, was elected president at the 99th International Convention in Fukuoka, Japan, in June 2016. A member of the Murfreesboro Noon Lions Club since 1978, Corlew has held many offices within the association and has received numerous awards including the Ambassador of Goodwill Award, the highest honour bestowed on members. The Corlews have five children and five grandchildren.

What part does Moore, TT ’s second international director since Terry Inniss, 20 years ago, play in the world of Lionism? “As an international director, I have the responsibility of serving on sub-committees of the board and assisting in making policies to keep our association relevant and at the forefront of humanitarian service.

“I also represent the association at conventions of Lions districts all over the US, (including the Caribbean) and Canada. My spouse, Rudy, accompanies me on these speaker engagements.

So far, our travels have taken us to Nebraska, Tennessee and Minnesota. Over the next few months we will be visiting Wisconsin, Alabama, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, California and Washington in the US and Saskatchewan and Ontario in Canada. In June we will join thousands of lions as we celebrate our association’s centennial anniversary in Chicago.”

As a long-time student of history, I have long lamented the fact that Michael Anthony appeared to be the last of the great historians and writers, and then came along Bissessarsingh, not a moment too soon. It would be remiss of me if I did not endorse his place among the greats of our time.

It seems to me that his greatness is to be defined in the amount of love and passion he was blessed with, which has convinced me that his mission in life was divinely inspired, reminding me of Jesus who came for a specific purpose and was then taken away. Like Jesus, Bissessarsingh had a time limit in which to accomplish his purpose and accepted his cup of tea with grace and poise, never projecting weakness, only positivity.

This has to be one of the most important lessons he taught us.

Other lessons can be: a) Pride in ourselves. We are as important as the early cultures recorded since ancient times.

b) Historically, we evolved and developed as one people, not as different ethnic groups.

c) Knowledge is as light, the more we have is the more we see the way forward.

d) To strive for individual goals, despite any challenges; to persevere until success is achieved.

His was no mean task, considering the limited time he was given, and was definitely gifted and blessed to finish three books in one year. His work speaks for itself and we just have to be thankful we were blessed to have him among us.

Seldom have I seen so much love and compassion from an individual so devoted to what is good where values are concerned.

My condolences go out to his parents, as well as my praises, as they were charged and chose to parent and nurture such a good soul.

JOEL QUINTAL via email

That is not victim blaming/ shaming, or an abdication of the responsibility of men, the Police Service or the Government. It is common sense. Prevention is better than cure.

Do you go to sleep at night and recklessly leave your front door open? Some situations are avoidable, others are not. However, we must not make ourselves an easy target.

Long ago when a woman saw a man she liked, she and/or her friends and relations would do a background check on him, before getting into a committed relationship.

For example, among other things, she would seek information on whether or not he had a history of violence in his past, inclusive of his relationships with women.

TT ’s small size is a distinct advantage.

We are good “macos”.

Most people either know each other or have friends/relations who can access information on people with whom we interact.

Sadly, as a developing country, at times we are unduly influenced by the “psycho-babble” of the “North” and, mindlessly, throw the baby out with the bath water. Unfortunately, even in the good old days, some women who failed to do the background checks lived to regret that decision.

Regrettably, I have observed, recently, that certain organisations established with the objective of empowering and protecting women have perhaps, unwittingly, been promoting, by implication, recklessness, given their lack of support for the Prime Minister’s call for personal responsibility as one of the obvious measures in the protection of women. These organisations ought to focus some attention on what preventive measures women should take to avoid relationships with violent men, similar to the guidance we, routinely, provide to our children in their dealings with strangers.

Like all other crimes/social ills, domestic violence has to be fought on many fronts — legislation, law enforcement, counselling, education and awareness etc. However, like all other crimes/social ills, we must accept our personal responsibility to protect ourselves as far as is practicable. Recklessness is not an option.

The Prime Minister has given sound advice.

No woman should ignore what he has said. He has nothing to apologise for.

Louis Winston Williams St Augustine

It would appear the music truck did not have the required permit. I guess no one thought of checking to ensure all documents were in order to be on the road. But as new Portof- Spain Mayor Joel Martinez said, “Something went wrong…

but that is life.” Meanwhile back on the road those who lined the street to see the mas were overheard saying, “This is madness.” “This year is the worst I have ever seen.” “You have a parade of Carnival characters and no music.” One even steups and shouted that Carnival dead and, “This launch is more like a funeral.” May I remind that this is part of “the greatest show on earth” for those who continue to believe that.

C Peters via email

Many have asked me what would I have done if I were Prime Minister. I say most confidently that such a scenario could not happen under my watch. No way ever.

As Prime Minister I would have said in no uncertain terms that anyone with an illegal gun has two weeks to deposit it in areas set up for collecting same with impunity. I will follow up with legislation that imposes a severe penalty on those caught with illegal guns. This will be supported by a gun court.

As Prime Minister, I will take away the advantage that criminals have on citizens by empowering law-abiding citizens through making firearms available to farmers, homeowners and businessmen who meet the requirements for legal firearms.

Criminals must know they can no longer break down someone’s door while the homeowner and family cower in fear. There must be an awareness that the proposed victim may be legally armed. I will immediately make available to citizens items like pepper spray, mace and stun guns. I will ensure that villages along the coastline are patrolled around the clock and ensure the Marine Branch of the Police Service is activated to patrol the rivers in Caroni, Mayaro and Moruga.

I will additionally pass legislation to remove old cases from clogging up the judicial system and expedite the cases before the courts. In general, the citizens of TT will know that the day of criminal domination is over.

If those simple things are not happening, then one ought to know that we simply do not care. After all, it’s us that allowed the Red House to fall apart, Whitehall to be abandoned and President’s House to be in a state of disrepair.

It is us who allowed the satellite dish in Chaguaramas to remain an eyesore with rust and decay, allowed the cemetery and church in Maqueripe that was also part of our unique history during the last world war to be destroyed and are now allowing vagrants to occupy the Mucurapo Foreshore.

My stomach aches with pain as I see us “soca down” the road of destruction wearing our red and yellow while we disregard the red, white and black.

Steve Alvarez via ema

America is not his land. It belongs to God. Muslims live in several countries such as England, Australia, Canada, Venezuela, China, Russia. Are they banned? Muslims lived happily, peacefully, lovingly in America during the time of President Barrack Obama and all the previous Presidents.

It is a cursory decision of Trump’s.

He is a pharaoh who believed that Egypt was his. He is also a Herod. I wonder if Trump is cognizant of the US Constitution of true freedom.

He has a callous heart for Muslims.

He has a trait of dictatorship of a communist leader.

If he is against Islam the wrath of Allah will be on him.

He must read the Quran before acting rashly.

He must realise that he is very old and his rash actions are detrimental to his presidency.

He has no mercy for Muslims. Jesus did preach “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” Trump is not supported generally by Americans. He seems to be a perfect Jekyll and Hyde.

On Judgment Day he will have to answer to God and will be thrown into hell.

AHAMAD KHAYYAM Curepe

According to ACP Hackshaw, for the past week persons have been sending photographs of persons allegedly being murdered, even naming persons as victims, and in one instance a video was shared of a man being beheaded.

Coupled with that, there have been numerous voice notes as well as some women alleging that they escaped from human traffickers.

The senior officer said that all the information waschecked and all turned out to be bogus.

He said officers of the Police Cyber Crime Unit have been working around the clock to ascertain where the information was coming from, and the police would get involved once the perpetrator/s was/ were found.

He said that people were engaging in causing a nationwide panic in the country when people were already concerned about crime. He added that persons should put country first and stop using social media for their own selfish purposes.

Yesterday, people received information on messaging app WhatsApp that three men were murdered at Mission Road, Freeport, and names of the alleged victims were given.

However, when Newsday contacted the Homicide Bureau, it was determined that the information was fake. Hackshaw further advised that if persons were concerned about the information they received on social media, they can contact the Police Service and provide the information.

Newsday understands that acting CoP Stephen Williams was also informed about the bogus information being sent through social media and he advised his communications manager, Ellen Lewis, to condemn the falsehood being perpetrated by unknown persons

He said he is demanding that Cemex, TCL and/or the T&T Stock Exchange explain the delay.

According to Permell, Cemex gave a clear undertaking and commitment to pay shareholders who took up its offer on or before February 3, 2017 but more than a week later none of the shareholders had been paid nor had they received an explanation for the delay. Permell said in a statement that “this cannot be in keeping with the highest standards of professionalism and/ or good business etiquette,” adding that it was “totally unsatisfactory and unacceptable.” He said this situation could not have happened in the U.S or some other first world country.

In a statement, Cemex announced that its indirect subsidiary, Sierra Trading had received 114,313,299 TCL shares in response to its offer and that this together with the shares already owned by Sierra Trading brought the company’s shareholding in TCL to about 70.01 percent of TCL’s outstanding shares.

The company said that it would have to pay about US$86,878,107.24 for the shares deposited in response to the takeover bid. And in a letter dated December 5, 2016 to the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission and the Trinidad and Tobago Central Depository Limited, Cemex stated that it had made adequate arrangements before making the takeover bid to ensure that the required funds are available to make full payment for all the shares offered. The letter said “when the offer becomes unconditional or conditions are waived by Sierra in accordance with the offer document, Cemex will cause the necessary funds to be remitted to Sierra’s account at Citibank Trinidad and Tobago Limited to enable it to make full payment to all TCL shareholders for such number of shares as have been accepted.”

Speaking on Tuesday at a stakeholders forum on Modernization of Animal Health Legislation and Regulation at the Sugarcane Feeds Centre in Longdenville, he said that legislation should treat with both present and future issues.

Rambharat also spoke to specific issues raised at the forum dealing with clarification of proposed amendments to Animal Health Legislation on the issue of country of origin, disease and definitions.

Gregg Rawlins, representative from the Inter- American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), noted that the purpose of the meeting was to disseminate the final draft document to stakeholders and host discussions on the way forward in moving the legislative process to the next stage.

Michelle Mellows of the Ministry’s Animal Production and Health Division echoed the words of Minister Rambharat saying that animal health legislative framework must be robust, unambiguous and fit for purpose.

Presentations were made on topics, including Animal Health Bill (2017) Outlining SPS Compliance and Veterinary Authority and Animal Health Policy, Legislation and Regulations.

The primary objective of the consultation was to modernize and strengthen existing animal health legislation in order to implement Trinidad and Tobago’s obligations under the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

This Draft Legislation, once approved, is intended to repeal and replace the 1954 Animals (Diseases and Importation) Act, Chapter 67:02 and the 1955 Animals (Importation) Control Regulations. The main objectives of the Draft Bill are to protect and promote animal and human health; prevent the introduction and spread of animal diseases within Trinidad and Tobago; facilitate and regulate trade in animals, animal products and animal-related items; and to establish standards for animal welfare.

Included among the stakeholders were Robin Phillips of Arawak Limited and Dr David Kangaloo, Chief Veterinary Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries