Corrupting Our Morals

Published on May 16, 2012 in corruption, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, People's Partnership and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 16, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeCorruption takes various forms. Sometimes it is as deliberate as paying someone to give a view that is favorable to one’s position; sometimes it involves simply stealing another man’s purse through devious means; sometimes it entails padding the payroll so that someone gets more money than he or she worked for. Sometimes it even involves using one’s talent, be it mental or physical, and placing it at the behest of the highest bidder. Sometimes it is as blatant as the acts of Calder Hart or Bernie Madoff.
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Playing politics with CAL

Published on May 13, 2012 in Caribbean, corruption, General T&T, Jamaica and People's Partnership. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

By Raffique Shah
May 13, 2012

Raffique ShahANYONE with a modicum of commonsense would have laughed off the pronouncement some months ago that cash-strapped, debt ridden Caribbean Airlines (CAL) was on course to make a profit of $200 million. And if you had a sense of humour, you would have rolled on the floor—or cried like a baby—when chairman George Nicholas pledged US$5 million from the anticipated profit to the Prime Minister’s Children’s Life Fund. Really, if they believed that, George and his fellow directors (well, none of them expressed a dissenting view) could have made twice times the ghost profit staging their own comedy show in the stadium.
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Obama’s Challenges

Published on May 9, 2012 in General T&T and USA. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 09, 2012

Barack ObamaNow that Francois Hollande has shattered the consensus around the virtues of austerity, the real question is this: what will American voters do when their turn comes to make a judgment on Barack Obama’s stewardship over the last four years. Too many Americans seem to have forgotten the mess that Obama inherited when he took over from George Bush and the unrelieved opposition he has encountered from a Congress and a Senate who are hell-bent on ensuring he fails. It is almost as though the Republicans want to punish Obama for not recovering the jobs that Bush lost in the first place.
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Stop partying, start governing

Published on May 6, 2012 in COP, Election 2010, General T&T, Parliament, People's Partnership and PNM. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

By Raffique Shah
May 06, 2012

Raffique ShahTHE People’s Partnership government is seemingly stuck in the self-destruct mode. It appears to be stricken with a series of minor collisions, with the driver preoccupied with averting a major, fatal crash. Its second anniversary in power is mere weeks away, but the five-party coalition appears to be overcome with fighting a spate of internal fires rather than being focused on delivering good governance. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar would tell us otherwise, as she did last Wednesday, when she emerged from an emergency Cabinet meeting to say, repeatedly, “All members of Cabinet have expressed full commitment to the principle of collective responsibility…”
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Stealing from the Public Purse

Published on May 2, 2012 in Finance, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, People's Partnership and Politics. 16 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 02, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe news flooded the airways and inundated the newspapers: “Vidwatie Newton, the sister of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, traveled first class when she accompanied the PM on her recent trip to India…The total cost of Newton’s travel to India was $233,600″ (Express, April 27).
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Get it Right Before You Write on TT’s Maritime Boundaries

Published on May 1, 2012 in Barbados, Caribbean, Grenada, International, Law and Politics. 4 Comments Tags: , , .

By Stephen Kangal
May 01, 2012

Stephen KangalLet me categorically state that the printed media especially since 2004 when the TT/Barbados boundary dispute first erupted and counting, has never gotten it right in reporting about our very specialized maritime boundaries matter. They have done a great disservice to T&T. I cannot identify any single journalist past or present who has taken the time to research and/or to consult responsibly on this matter that the freedom of the press demands of media houses.
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Fear of change

Published on April 29, 2012 in CARICOM, Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Parliament, People's Partnership and PNM. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

By Raffique Shah
April 29, 2012

Raffique ShahNEWS that the People’s Partnership Government has made an about turn in accepting the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final appellate court has elicited positive responses from eminent jurists and legal practitioners as well as most rational-thinking citizens. Has anyone noted, though, the stony silence from the ruling UNC’s core support base? Two days after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcement, there was no outpouring of support, no hosannas from the party faithful, no blog-drub that we have grown accustomed to seeing in the wake of any word that cometh from the mouth of the PM.
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The Issue of Colorism

Published on April 25, 2012 in Gender, General T&T, Race and Identity and Racism Watch. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

The Issue of Colorism: Dark-Skinned Girls, Light-Skinned Girls

By Akilah Holder, BA, MA
April 24, 2012 – trinidadexpress.com

Akilah HolderFor the most part of my life, I have had to deal with the drama of being stereotyped from the moment I step into a room because of my light-brown complexion. The animosity directed my way is usually intensified by the length of my hair and my mannerisms. And most of this animosity comes from my own sex, the darker-skinned of my own sex. This animosity seems to be indicative of and to be a result of colorism, defined as a conscious or unconscious state of prejudice that may be experienced by both blacks and whites so that they label as less attractive and intelligent individuals of a darker complexion… Continue…
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The New Barbarians

Published on April 25, 2012 in Caribbean, General T&T, People's Partnership and Politics. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 25, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeDr. Karl Case, a dear friend and one of the most eminent economists in the United States, has always pointed out to me that part of the greatness of the United States lies in innovative scientific research that takes place at its MITs (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and its California Techs; in its Silicone Valleys and Route 128 in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Case should know. He is one of the founders of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the leading indicator for the US housing market; a member of the Standards and Poors Index Advisory Committee and the Academic Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Board of Boston; the co-author of Principles of Economics that is used in over 300 colleges and universities in the United States. Not only is he knowledgeable but he has proved his mettle in the hard, cold world of United States capitalist market.
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Nature and Nurturing of a Prime Minister

Published on April 24, 2012 in General T&T, Hindu, Indian, International, People's Partnership, Politics and Race and Identity. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .

By Stephen Kangal
April 24, 2012

Stephen KangalDuring the recent visit made to her ancestral homeland, Bihari village of Bhelupur PM Persad-Bissessar issued a most profound, conclusive, unnoticed and defining statement on her nature and nurturing en route to becoming Prime Minister. She confessed quite categorically to the Bhelupuris gathered that “…whatever I am today is because Bihar is in my DNA and whatever my ancestors taught me…”.
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