All posts by News

General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC, USA

Reducing the Parliament to a Circus

2 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
January 20, 2017

Stephen KangalAs a dedicated viewer of the Parliamentary Channel I am disappointed and indeed saddened to witness the proceedings of the honourable and hallowed House under the Rowley Administration being reduced and relegated retrogressively to that of a circus full of clowns, lacking in seriousness, displaying wanton disrespect and being adjourned prematurely, frequently and in a hurry in spite of the outstanding matters listed on the Order Paper.

It appears as if they, that is the Government side are either going through a period of forced detention in Parliament, having other more important matters to conduct outside of the House or adjourning early for an after- work Friday lime on Ariapita Avenue. This is how the people’s business is being subordinated by those pretenders who sold themselves as being red and ready but after sixteen months in office have showed no credible signs of real performance even after two retreats and no war on the criminals.
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Gender, General T&T, Sex

Poor Rolph, Brilliant Rolph

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
Jamuary 16, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoePoor Rolph, or should I say, brilliant Rolph. I do not wish to denigrate Dr. Rolph Balgobin’s name or rush to judgment about any of the charges that have been made against him. I expect justice to run its course since Balgobin has hired the best legal minds to defend his innocence and sustain his reputation.

This is my dilemma: I cannot understand why any society would want to pile so much responsibility on one man or woman even though it does seem as if our women are so favored. Balgobin’s public profile is a thing to behold. Andy Johnson described him as “one of the country’s more connected and powerful men” which is why so many persons feared to interfere where he trod.
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General T&T, Religion, Schools

Celebrating 149 Years of The Presbyterian Church

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By Stephen Kangal
January 15, 2017

Stephen KangalPeaceful and restful, Aramalaya Church where the PCTT founder, Rev John Morton established his second operational base to spread the Presbyterian brand of protestant evangelism/education to North and Central Trinidad was eminently qualified to host the 8th January 2017 Service of Grateful Praise and Thanksgiving to commemorate and launch the 149th Anniversary Celebrations of the Founding of the Presbyterian Church of T&T (PCTT).
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Business, Finance, General T&T, Recession

We must do, or die like stray dogs

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By Raffique Shah
January 11, 2017

Raffique ShahIf fantasy could be magically transformed into reality, as Dictator-General of Trinidad and Tobago, I would harness the approximately $10 billion per year that is wasted on cigarettes, alcohol and gambling and put that money to productive use.

But then I’d be a dead dictator before I could even proclaim the prohibitions, since I verily believe that 90-plus per cent of my countrymen smoke, drink alcohol or gamble, and many of them engage in all three vices.
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General T&T, International, Russia, USA

Do so eh like so

4 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 08, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIt would be hilarious if the issue were not so deadly serious. President Barack Obama accuses the Russians of undermining the US presidential election and the Senate Armed Services Committee holds intelligence hearings to discover why President Vladimir Putin tried to sabotage the will of the American people. Such treachery, President Obama suggests, throws us back into a past from which American citizens have turned their gazes.
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Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, Recession

A decisive year ahead

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By Raffique Shah
January 04, 2017

Raffique ShahIF asked what is the number one problem facing the nation as we enter 2017, the overwhelming majority respondents would say violent crimes, especially murders. My beleaguered fellow citizens, having survived another bloody year during which killers showed utter contempt for law and order, see a slide into anarchy looming large.

But I submit that the perilous state of the economy is the biggest threat to national stability, and the Government’s apparent inability to formulate strategies and plans to resuscitate it is the gravest danger the country faces.
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General T&T, PNM, Politics, Schools

A Brek-UP, Brek-DOWN Society

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By Dr. Selwyn Cudjoe
January 01, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWHEN I was a boy I wanted to go to Queen’s Royal College (QRC), not because of its academic standing but because I loved the khaki jackets its cadets wore.

I thought it was cool as I imagined myself in that uniform.

Years later I learned about its academic excellence when Eric Williams returned to Trinidad as one of its most famous graduates.
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Finance, General T&T, International, USA

Factoring the Costs of FATCA Compliance into the Debate

14 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
December 30, 2016

Stephen KangalIt would appear inevitable that T&T will, in the face of a doomsday scenario, be forced to become FATCA-compliant in the shortest possible time according to the shifting deadlines unilaterally issued by the IRS/Treasury Department. But in quantifying the current and future costs of FATCA compliance one must go beyond the costs to be incurred by individuals, companies, local banks and other financial institutions and the potential loss of their billion-dollar profit margins.
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General T&T

Little boy that Santa Claus ignored

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By Raffique Shah
December 30, 2016

Raffique ShahIf there is one universal truth about Christmas, it is that the festival is about children, most of all their innocence that runs so deep, for two thousand years adults have convinced them that there is a Santa Claus who dwells somewhere near the North Pole, and whose life-mission is to magically materialise toys and gifts that he distributes to little boys and girls across the world during that one night of the year.
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