WE ARE BEING LIED TO ABOUT EVERYTHING

In a conversation with a friend of mine this morning I discovered that he and his circle believe
that what is happening in T&T and whether or not the Government is telling us the truth about how the virus is being handled in T&T, is that we are being told the truth and that the Government is not lying to us about anything.

I found this to be very interesting because it means that the Government propaganda has been very effective and that most people simply do not question what they are told by the authorities. It also means (unfortunately) that those in my friend's circle are not as well informed as they should or could be. As to whether this is the fault of their inherent biases or that of the fact that they simply don't read or question anything, I obviously cannot say, though my money would be more on the fact that most people simply accept unquestioningly what they are told by the authorities and simply don't bother to read or question anything.

Let me give you a small example of what I mean: Yesterday the Prime Minister stood up in Parliament and said that he knew nothing about any tanker with gasoline from Trinidad going to Venezuela. Well, as I explained to my friend, a half truth is often more dangerous than a lie. Taken at face value Dr. Rowley's statement that he knows or knew nothing about the matter in question is clear and unambiguous. But if we dig a little more we discover that Dr. Rowley's Minister of Energy, Franklin Khan,  is reported as acknowledging that a large shipment of gasoline went to a refinery in Aruba. Now, that refinery in Aruba is owned by a company called Citgo which is owned by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.

Now, if the gasoline went to PVSA's subsidiary in  Aruba, and Venezuela is experiencing an extreme shortage of gasoline right now with very, very long lines at every gas station in that poor country, and the fact that PDVSA is one hundred percent owned by the Venezuelan Government how much would you like to bet that the gasoline from Trinidad did NOT go to Venezuela? Nothing? Neither would I! And given that the Government through its Minister of Energy knew that the gasoline went to Aruba, how much would you like to bet that the erstwhile Minister did NOT tell his boss (the Prime Minister) that this was going on or had gone on? Nothing? Neither would I! And how much do you want to bet that the Americans are NOT aware of this and are planning right now on how they are going to deal with this sanction busting exercise? Nothing? Neither would I!

That Dr. Rowley clearly told a half truth in Parliament and thus to the country is rather obvious. He can easily say that it is true that he doesn't know of any shipment of gasoline from Trinidad to Venezuela because there was none. But the whole truth is that he knew or ought to have known about the shipment to Aruba and is not so stupid as to be unable to connect the dots from there. Whatever you might think of the Prime Minister 'stupid' is definitely not one of his faults!

Which brings me back to the central point of this post: we are not being told the truth about anything ranging from the coronavirus to the gasoline to Venezuela and everything in between. It is clear to all but the most blind or biased that things are going on and that we are in it  so deeply that it ain't funny! And to those blind supporters of Dr. Rowley & Co., please don't try and deflect from the issues by calling me names or telling me about how wicked and evil the other side is. Give me the straight answers to the straight questions that are being asked about the economy, the %^&*&^%# virus and the gasoline sale (amongst other things). 

If (as appears strongly to be the case) the Government has engaged in a sanctions busting exercise then the whole country is going to pay dearly for it. But let's see what happens next. Certainly, things seem to be unraveling fast and who knows? By next week there may be something else on our minds. But, we should worry. We are not being told the whole truth about anything. And the question is why?