17 March, 2010

Somali pirates attack Dutch warship

HNLMS Tromp (F803)



Every so often, someone does something amazingly silly that make you just laugh. This was the case when Somali pirates mistakenly tried to hijack a Dutch frigate today. The HNLMS Tromp is loaded with all kinds of missiles, torpedoes, really large guns and other armaments.

This warship is almost twice the size of another Dutch warship--the HNLMS Van Amstel--that visited Trinidad last year.

We could use a couple of fighting frigates in our Coast Guard.

10 March, 2010

Excellent Trini youth


Top: Model Trini 13-yr-old, Nick Sinanan.
Bottom: Chilean looters.

Just when some are ready to give up on our nation’s restless youth, we hear an inspiring story like this:




Just in case anyone thought Chileans showed any more restraint than Haitians in the aftermath of earthquakes, there is a first person account of Chilean youth rampaging through the capital city’s streets robbing anyone they found. This was mere minutes after the earthquake, at 4 am!

At least the Haitians waited a few days before looting. And their looting was mainly for food, whereas many Chileans seemed to have a preference for TVs and other electronic goods.

No wonder vigilante groups emerged.

Take note, T&T.

01 March, 2010

Preparing for our own earthquake


Since Haiti’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake and now Chile’s 8.8, some Trinidadians and Tobagonians have been paying attention and wondering about our readiness for our own ‘overdue’ quake.

Waiting for a government directive through the Office of Disaster Planning and Management (ODPM) may work. But it certainly won’t pay. Far better to prepare ourselves, family and community by stockpiling water/food, a redundant security system—preferably in conjunction with our immediate community—and medical supplies, plus whatever other preparations we’d need to rebuild and return to some degree of normalcy. In short, we need beans, bullets and band-aids. 

And training.

Organise family emergency drills. Then at the street level. Then at the neighbourhood level. Then the entire community, if possible. Video everything, then look for weaknesses and strengths. Eliminate or reduce the weak parts of the plan, and build on the strengths.

Document and pass on to other communities. Rinse. Repeat.

While on the subject, shouldn’t the Tobago-based Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) pilot program finally reach Trinidad? Maybe AFTER the disaster…


T&T’S CHILE RESPONSE


The Chilean government does not want outside help, and has said so itself:


Civilized people don’t go where they’re not wanted. Are we savages?
 
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