BW
11-03-2007, 03:04 PM
I've seen the UNC use scare tactics before, but the outright outlandishness of this one surprises me. It depresses me as well, since I know there are people who will buy into Kamla's allegations, and that will only fuel the division and mutual-distrust in our society.
From today's Guardian (link (http://www.guardian.co.tt/news1.html) and archive link (http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-11-03/news1.html))
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the wooden poles used in the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) street lighting project were poisonous has been described by T&TEC chairman Devanand Ramlal as “erroneous.”
Ramlal yesterday made the statement during a press conference at the Stanley P Ottley building on the Uriah Butler Highway.
He was responding to claims by Persad-Bissessar on Thursday night during the UNC Alliance’s public meeting in St Augustine, that the poles, most of which were stored at the Divali Nagar site, were sprayed with chemicals that could cause cancer and birth defects in newborn babies.
He said the poles in question were pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) which protected the poles from termite infestation. The CCA, he said, reacted with cells in the wood which made it safe.
“When you touch these poles nothing happens to you.”
Regarding the issue of fumes, Ramlal discounted this.
He claimed that most of the wood used in people’s homes was treated in the same manner as the light poles.
Ramlal said Persad-Bissessar’s claim was nothing more than “political rhetoric.”
He further added that the standard of the poles were in keeping with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States (the equivalent to T&T’s Environmental Management Authority), which Ramlal claimed had very high standards.
I like that part about the Divali Nagar and causing "cancer and birth defects". I wonder how long it will be before east-indians stop responding to the UNC's subtle and not-so-subtle scare mongering? Well, I guess tribalism is still alive and well, otherwise Kamla wouldn't be making these allegations on the week before elections. :|
Anyway: This is from me, to Kamla:
You know, there's only so many times you can cry "wolf" before the people lose faith in you. I'll file this one along with all the other baseless, false, politically-motivated charges you have presented. I have no confidence in you or your party. You have shown you are more than willing to create an atmosphere of distrust and division in our society, and that does not make you a fit politician or even a fit human being. You will never see my vote. You and your party do not deserve it.
From today's Guardian (link (http://www.guardian.co.tt/news1.html) and archive link (http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-11-03/news1.html))
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the wooden poles used in the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) street lighting project were poisonous has been described by T&TEC chairman Devanand Ramlal as “erroneous.”
Ramlal yesterday made the statement during a press conference at the Stanley P Ottley building on the Uriah Butler Highway.
He was responding to claims by Persad-Bissessar on Thursday night during the UNC Alliance’s public meeting in St Augustine, that the poles, most of which were stored at the Divali Nagar site, were sprayed with chemicals that could cause cancer and birth defects in newborn babies.
He said the poles in question were pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) which protected the poles from termite infestation. The CCA, he said, reacted with cells in the wood which made it safe.
“When you touch these poles nothing happens to you.”
Regarding the issue of fumes, Ramlal discounted this.
He claimed that most of the wood used in people’s homes was treated in the same manner as the light poles.
Ramlal said Persad-Bissessar’s claim was nothing more than “political rhetoric.”
He further added that the standard of the poles were in keeping with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States (the equivalent to T&T’s Environmental Management Authority), which Ramlal claimed had very high standards.
I like that part about the Divali Nagar and causing "cancer and birth defects". I wonder how long it will be before east-indians stop responding to the UNC's subtle and not-so-subtle scare mongering? Well, I guess tribalism is still alive and well, otherwise Kamla wouldn't be making these allegations on the week before elections. :|
Anyway: This is from me, to Kamla:
You know, there's only so many times you can cry "wolf" before the people lose faith in you. I'll file this one along with all the other baseless, false, politically-motivated charges you have presented. I have no confidence in you or your party. You have shown you are more than willing to create an atmosphere of distrust and division in our society, and that does not make you a fit politician or even a fit human being. You will never see my vote. You and your party do not deserve it.