While I don't wish to indulge in semantics or hairsplitting, it seems that what I had to say might have been misconstrued.

In the first place I am quoted in inverted commas as using the words "no doubt" when I wrote "little doubt". Granted there is only a nuance between the two, but quotations should be at least faithful.

In the second place my statement was described as "histronic". I take it this was a typographical error and the word intended for use was "histrionic" which I believe means theatrical or emotionally exaggerated. This certainly was not my mental outlook or my intention at the time of writing.

Humble apologies for any misunderstanding that might have been occasioned.

J. Lindsay - I step forward:-
You appear to be an intelligent blogger.
As much as we may have opinions, done our calculations, analyse, assess and reasses, etc. we have to leave that door open for the Official and Final Judgement to come from the Justice System.
If according to you "he is guilty as charged" and we wish to throw the books on him, then we can attempt to do so; but no legal doors will be left opened for those of us who wish to take this journey.
But need I remind you that we do operate in a democracy and while public opinions do matter, they have no place in our Justice System. We have opnions and this platform gives us the privilege to submit ours, and we do so without dumping on others. Isn't life great, especially when we have our freedoms like we do in T&T.
I am sure you are aware of many cases in rhe Americas where many who have been sentenced by the Justice System, served time in jail, some more than 20 years, have finally been given their freedoms when it was found that they were 'innocent' people who were served wrongly by the courts.
So I for one will leave that Final Decision to come from the Justice System, and not from me or anyone else who may think that "he is guilty as charged".
*** Submitted without Prejudice or Precedent!
Gardenia

J Lindsay, you starting to get a real grip on the real reason why Panday fighting so hard to stay as leader of the UNC. Even if it means having the electorate so disenchanted with the alternative to the point where they go and put back the PNM, Panday's sole mission in life right now is to find a way to stay out of prison. But if he feel being Leader of the Ppposition is so prestigious that he is above being jailed after being found guilty, he need to start getting used to cold showers and liquid soap (yuh cyar drop dat).

This is why he could never be described as a Statesman. He knows public opinion, his party's opinion, his lone financier's opinion, and not least, he knows Manning's opinion. But he will never move. Doing what is in the best interest of the country is not in the cards for Panday. He will make his own decisions and claim it is what "the people who put him in office" want, in other words, his party's executive who keeping him in office. The main purpose of the executive is to ensure the greater good of the party in an effort to gain power in the general elections and offer the country better governance. It is clear the main function of this executive is to keep Oma Panday (and Bas as well) as the head of this club. If Panday listened to the people he would have been gone 2 years ago and his memoires would have been a best seller (a good offset to pay his legal fees). So unless people wise up and see the urgency of the situation, they would run reluctantly back to the PNM and is another 5 years of Manning. A scenario that Panday's sycophants should hardly complain about, since they have Panday staying where he is causing people to vote against the opposition instead of for it. So you are quite correct to say that Manning could afford to make brazen statements... he has no reason to fear losing office.

THE PLAN IS TO PROTECT THE BIG FISH AT THE EXPENSE OF THE SMALL FRY -

YOU MISS AN IMPORTANT POINT THIS IS NOT ABOUT PANDAY, MANNING OR ROWLEY UNC COP OR PNM IT IS ABOUT THE PROCESS OF GOVERNANCE
Despite your fixation, why aren’t drug kingpins caught? Why aren’t any corruption unearthed and charges laid when a political party is in power? PNM corruption was unearthed and charges laid under NAR. UNC was unearthed and laid under PNM. Who is to unearth the present corruption? It took over twenty years until PNM went out of power to unearth O’Halloran and Prevatt. We hear complaints of,

1) Rowley was accused of wajank behaviour by Manning, but this behaviour was sanctioned as Rottweiler behaviour when he was attacking UNC.
2) Rowley was accused of taking material from the Scarborough Hospital by Ganga Singh. The Integrity Commission became involved and unknown to Rowley a hatchet job was being done on him. Politically Rowley was being set up to take the fall. Was this an attempt to distract from the corruption of UDECOTT?
3) Rowley took pre-emptive action and was able to defend himself and was cleared.
4) The accusations persisted.
5) The question arises was there two sets of bobol, Rowley with Elias and Manning with Hart.
6) Were they both fighting for turf? Are they now turning on each other?
7) What is the role of the other MP’s who have defended either’s action saying that there is no corruption are they implicated by their support.
8) If Rowley was not attacked would he have countered or just work in the system.
9) What was his motivation, nation defence or self preservation?
10) The same applies with RAMJACK, COP and Panday.
11) Where Ramesh’s initial charges against Panday, motivated by the fact that Panday did no support his election win.
11) Why did he come back into the party and defend Panday, saying that he was being politically prosecuted. Panday was also supported even when he had court cases by all the UNC MP’s including Dookeran, Ramesh, Jack, and Gypsy.
13) How come Panday is now tainted, these cases have been going on for years.
14) The same RAMJACK and COP who supported Panday even when he had court cases also supported Sat Sharma when he had court cases and they said it was politically motivated.

15) It is instructive that the RAMJACK and COP only disassociated from Panday when they did not think they would get the Leadership position and not because of corruption and the court cases. That explanation only came after the Leadership attempts failed. Up to that time when the possibilities were looking good nothing was wrong with Panday.
16) Where is the Integrity Commission, was it used to prosecute Rowley and Panday? How come it is now unacceptable to the government when it is needed to investigate UDECOTT?
17) Was the Uff commission set up to fail? Why wasn’t it gazetted? Why didn’t Khan initially reuse himself when objections were made by the opposition? He admitted to bias when UDECOTT was able to use it as their defence.

It is not only a matter of who is guilty but is it politically convenient to go after that person. Ganga Sing and Sadiq were also suspected of being corrupt. Coke was found in Sadiq’s water tank. The UNC defended Sadiq saying that he was set up. Ganga Sing was implicated and threatened by PMN about the Desal project he bust the mark on Rowley and then he attack UNC, he was then left alone. Jack Warner was threatened by PNM about corruption in the building of the five stadia he now attacking Panday they left him alone. PNM attacked Ramesh about his possible implications in the murder of a witness, he attack Panday and he was left alone. Manning is now saying that he was involved in the plan to bring down Panday and that same plan is being used to bring down PNM. He ascribes the planner as Ramesh. Rowley who was very critical of UNC corruption is now saying that the UDECOTT corruption is ten times worse than PIARCO. It is not reasonable to assume that all the players are involved in one way or the other and are involved in charge and counter charges to divert attention away from themselves and to CYA . To say you catch a one and allow the others to still control the system is being penny wise pound foolish. We justify the prosecution of UNC millions by ignoring PNM billions. We justify the prosecution of someone on the block with a five piece and ignore the billion dollar drug kingpin always getting away. Who we fooling, that is just intellectual masturbation. All we are doing is indirectly giving legitimacy to the drug kingpins and the Harts and promoting them to the status of untouchables. We catching the small fry in order to let go the big fish, and rationalising it by saying we cleaning up the system. If we are cleaning up the system how come it only gets worse? Don’t be fooled we are not cleaning it up we are unwittingly supporting the subterfuge of dirtying it. Is it OK to ignore or hide corruption in our party as long as we go after corruption of selected opposition members? Is it OK to ignore the drug kingpin if we go after the fellas on the block? That is Interesting rationalizing. We say Sadiq , Sharma, and Rowley were set up, but cannot accept that Panday’s prosecution is politically motivated and manipulated by the same operatives. Where is the said Integrity Commission? According to Rudder "Whey the cocaine pass?”. According to Stalin,” Wait Dorothy, wait Dorothy, wait", they understand it is only a set ah fooling and selective targeting for political and financial gain.