Mr. Char

Doh say I say but ah hear a certain restaurant that always advertising on de radio and (they very friendly towards members of the protective services) and is "not Bar B Que" should be really called Mr. Char because de food always "black black." Comment if you ever tried this well-publicised eating place.

No artificial ingredients?

How can the proponents of High Fructose Corn syrup claim it has no artificial ingredients? It is an artificial ingredient! It is not naturally occurring in corn. If you grind up a grain of corn and distill and separate the contents, you do not get high fructose corn syrup!! No wonder they don't call their website thetruthabouthighfructosecornsyrup.com - because that would indeed be a lie. Sweetsurprise makes sense, I guess! You'll get a surprising way of looking at HFCS...but I doubt it tells the truth!

For a definition of 'natural ingredient' see: http://www.naturalingredient.org/naturalingredients.htm

Read how they make High Fructose Corn Syrup here:

http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html

Does that sound like a natural ingredient to you?

The truth about HFCS is probably that the people who began using it, did so because they wanted to end the dependence on imported sugar, but this does not mean HFCS is safe, and it remains to be seen whether it is actually safe. Sadly if it is not, the only way we will know is in the effect on lives of the consumers who believe the sweet words at sweetsurprise dot com or who are just blissfully ignorant of it all.

A dictator in education

Ah hear Tim say what he say goes and that is that. He is instituting big changes in the SEA and is brooking no arguments or dissension. He is an honourable dictator too, the man has visions of multiple intelligences. These dreams of his could well turn into nightmares for the thousands of students set to take SEA plunge next year.

Developed vs developing

Apparently, we've been "upgraded" to developed country status. Ah hear somebody say "who they paid for that"? But seriously, ah hear in a developed country, they have a decent health care system, infrastructure and no SOE. Developed countries have found the way to reduce criminal activity significantly with positive measures instead of last ditch ones. In a developed country, customer service is a top priority and not a distant ethereal fantasy. In a developed country transparency is real not imaginary. In a developed country, the "pipe" lady simply would not be. In a developed country careers crumble and break at the first sign of a scandal. In a developed country the nationals have longer term memory. But they say we are developed, perhaps the standards have dropped. Whatever we are, we are still low on the totem pole, that's the sad reality.

Baby Syri

I don't want to believe but ah hear somebody launched a verbal attack on a baby yesterday. In what alternate reality are we existing, that this kind of behaviour would not be immediately condemned? Still trying to grapple with this one. Post by Fay-Ann Lyons

This is the WordCup

You're not looking a typo! The title is meant to say WordCup...so it's not football, although I am posting about this during the actual World Cup and the stunning news today is Brazil is out! Anyway, back to the WordCup - it's a spelling quiz that incorporates vocabulary too...because if you can guess the word from the meaning given, you get bonus points. Check it out and see what you think. Seems like a great way to build your vocabulary and spelling skills if only they would change the practise words as they promise to do every week. Since their buttons do not work on Blogspot, you will have to go directly to their site at Word-Cup.org. Have fun!

Prepare for long lines at RBTT?

If yuh cyah avoid going to de ATM or de bank at month end, carry a book or two or two newpapers and a pen to do de crossword, because a little birdie whispered to me dat there might be long long lines at RBTT. Doh say I say - but dey say forewarned is forearmed right?!

Machel wants to retire?

At Temperature 2, Machel Montano said he's thinking about retiring. He said he can't continue de "chookin" every night for Carnival. I want to know who asked him to start de chooking t'ing in de first place!

What's really healthy?

Here are some unhealthy "health" foods and their healthier alternatives:
Not so healthy: Pop-Tarts Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon (2 pastries)
Healthier: Sun-Maid Raisin English Muffins with Cinnamon

Not so healthy: Healthy Choice Complete Selections Sweet & Sour Chicken (340 g)
Healthier: Kashi Southwest Style Chicken

Not so healthy: Yoplait 99 percent Fat Free Cherry Orchard (1 container, 170 g)
Healthier: Oikos Organic Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Read more on these and the eight other worst healthy foods at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28799225/?pg=4#TDY_11WorstHealthyFoods

No adverse effect?

Our EMA claims that cutting down trees has no adverse environmental effects. Can you believe this? What environmental science degree did the expert at EMA who spouted this bit of ignorance get his degree from, and from what university because clearly they need to be discredited!
Read about the adverse effects of cutting down trees aka deforestation at the National Geographic website:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview.html

I suppose it's because they are just some trees at the airport, and not in a forest that they have decided there can be no adverse affect on the environment.

I sincerely hope my sources are mistaken in believing the organisation responsible for safeguarding our environment in T&T could ever be the irresponsible voice condoning the actions of the any agency that chooses to strip our environment of the trees that are such very necessary and aesthetically-pleasing components of our landscape.

In Parliament

Upon overhearing that a girl had drunk poison, 5-year old asks her aunt,

"Why did she drink poison? She want to kill herself?"

Auntie is obviously impressed by her deductive skills.

"Relie, you real smart, you could be a prime minister or politician in parliament, some day."

Relie laughed scandalously at that thought and her aunt added,

"But you can't laugh like that when you go in Parliament."

Relie said,
"No, in parliament they pound the benches."

Is de child!

Taxi driver told this story:
A young woman came into the taxi and the driver noticing she was pregnant said congrats and

"It's so nice yuh havin' yuh children while you still young. By de way, where yuh work?"

"Mister, me eh wukkin' no where."

"Well, you are a blessed young lady."

"Why?"

"Well, because your man is gainfully employed so you don't have to work."

"He eh have no wuk either"

"Oh...I figure it out."

"What you figure out?

"Is de child wukking!"

EMS - ever more slower

That lame attempt at a revision of the meaning of the TTPOST service of the same acronym is based on the experience of a real TTPOST customer who paid for the express service that TTPOST provides and found that his mail arrived slower than expected. He probably should have paid double the price and gone with FedEx, at least with them, he has a guarantee of delivery. TTPOST apparently guarantees nothing but that your package will arrive. There is also no tracking available for the express service...so ah hear!

No protection, no service

Police stand by at City Gate, POS yesterday while a fight broke out in the midst of frustrated commuters seeking transportation. The police officers allegedly stood by and watched without intervening to break up the fight which turned out to be a bloody battle between young men from the same neighbourhood.
If the police won't protect, who will?

Police and thief

Right outside a police post, a woman witnesses a car being broken into. She called the police post when the thief was just trying to use a piece of wire to pick the lock. The police refused to believe her, wouldn't even go outside to check. By that time the thief had decided to just smash the car window, and does just that and was able to escape with over items worth more than TT $10, 000.
I don't believe it! The police in Trinidad would never do that! Right?! After all they could be called co-conspirators. They would certainly call other people co-conspirators if they knew of a crime and did nothing to stop it!

5k in Arima

A local club in D'Abadie will host a 5K to celebrate the club's launch on November 1st, 2008 at 6:30a.m.
Registration is free and starts at 5:45 am on the day of the race at Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima.
5K route is from Larry Gomes Stadium to D'Abadie.

Roti maker complains of unfair wage

At $6 a skin, a roti-maker who makes hundreds of skins per day gets only minimum wage $10 per hour. Now that is outrageous! This is a job that requires skill. Not everyone can make roti!
What's worse, her employer won't even pay NIS for her. Same old roti politics! Well, I know one place I won't be buying roti anymore. I cannot support such unconscionable activities.

Cancer-causing foods

Care 2 lists the top 10 cancer causing foods here. Click to the article for full details after you browse the list:

1. All charred food

2. Well-done red meat

3. Sugar (white and brown)

4. Heavily salted, smoked and pickled foods

5. Sodas/soft drinks

6. French fries, chips and snack foods that contain trans fats

7. Food and drink additives e.g. aspartame

8. Excess alcohol

9. Baked goods

10. Farmed fish (contains higher levels of toxins e.g. PCBs)

Is your sunscreen bad for your skin?

It might be! The nonprofit organisation Environmental Working Group (EWG) says some sunscreens contain harmful chemicals and others do not block all UV radiation. See how your brand stacks up. Surf to (EWG’s online Skin Deep database and see how your brand compares with others. You can also read about other health and beauty products.

Skin Deep lists these among the safe brands:
Alba Botanica Sun’s Fragrance-Free Mineral Sunscreen
Avalon Baby’s Sunscreen SPF 18
Badger’s SPF 30 Sunscreen
Burt’s Bees’ Chemical-Free Sunscreen SPF 15
California Baby’s SPF 30
Juice Beauty’s Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer, and
Kabana’s Green Screen SPF 15.

Source

Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to BPA

Bisphenol A (BPA) is said to be linked to Higher Risks of Heart Disease and Diabetes
Lower your risk!
Choose Plastic or Glass Bottles for Beverages
Canned juice and soda often contain some BPA, especially if they come in cans lined with BPA-laden plastic. Glass or plastic bottles are safer choices. For portable water bottles, stainless steel is best, but most disposable plastic water bottles do not contain BPA. Those that do are usually marked with a number 7 recycling code.

Use Baby Bottles That Are BPA-Free
As a general rule, hard, clear plastic contains BPA while soft or cloudy plastic does not. Most major manufacturers now offer baby bottles made without BPA.

Practice Moderation
The fewer canned foods and beverages you consume, the less your exposure to BPA, but you don’t have to cut out canned foods altogether to reduce your exposure and lower your potential health risks. In addition to eating less canned food overall, limit your intake of canned foods that are high in BPA.

For more ways see the source article.