Category Archives: General T&T

UWI backs protests against EU blacklist

Trinidad & Tobago Guardian
December 26, 2017 – guardian.co.tt

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad Main Administration BuildingKINGSTON—The University of the West Indies (UWI) is backing Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments in protesting the European Union’s (EU) recent blacklisting of regional countries it considers tax haven.

In a statement issued, Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles said the UWI “stands with the governments of the Caribbean in protesting the recent actions by the EU and calling for a more transparent and equitable regulatory system and joins the call for the EU to enter into a process to resolve the issue.”
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PNM women slam ‘Rowley mother’ song

PNM women slam ‘Rowley mother’ song

By Seeta Persad
December 23, 2017 – newsday.co.tt

Massive Gosine (Nirmal Gosine)Chutney Singer Nirmal “Massive” Gosine’s latest song Rowley Mother Count has triggered a heated online debate on what should pass for composition at the national level.

Yesterday, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis joined the chorus of opposition to the play of words, describing it as distasteful and loathsome.
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Between Big Stick Policy and Dollar Diplomacy

Contesting Caribbean Subservience in the Age of Trump

By Tyehimba
December 24, 2017

Donald TrumpThere was an overwhelming vote within the United Nations general assembly against the United States’ unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 128 members of the general assembly voted against motion, 9 nations voted for, while 35 nations including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama, Mexico and Canada, abstained. The non-binding vote came days after the United States used its veto power to overturn a UN security council resolution that called for a withdrawal of the recognition by Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had threatened that the United States would be taking names of all the countries who supported the resolution, while President Trump threatened to cut foreign aid to those countries.
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Moses explains T&T’s stance on Israel

By Gail Alexander
December 23, 2017 – guardian.co.tt

Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis MosesThis country’s policy has always been to support steadfast recognition of the State of Israel with secure territorial borders as well as establishment of a Palestinian State, the Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses said yesterday.

He gave this explanation when asked about T&T’s abstention from Thursday’s vote in the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the status of Jerusalem.
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Peace unto all—at least for the Christmas

By Raffique Shah
December 20, 2017

Raffique ShahIt must have been at the funeral for a military colleague that Brigadier Joseph Theodore, then a minister in the Basdeo Panday administration, pulled me aside for private conversation, which he initiated by brusquely whispering in my ear: “Raf, you couldn’t £$&*g warn me about getting involved in politics?” I laughed, but Joe continued his mini-tirade about the underworld of politics in which one “had to tolerate so much s%$t” in contrast to the military, where order, discipline, rules and regulations reigned supreme, and where, generally, soldiers lived by codes of honour that implied implicit trust in one’s comrades.
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Dreaming of a Non-White Christmas

Santa, Jesus, and the Symbolism of Racial Supremacy

By Tim Wise
December 20, 2000 – trinicenter.com

Poinsettia: South American and Mexican plantWell it’s that time of year again. Time for all good Americans to focus on what really matters. Not family, community, or world peace, but that national sacrament of late-stage capitalism known as Holiday shopping. Whether you do it online, or drag yourself to the mall amidst the sea of humanity scrapping and fighting for the latest must-have gizmo, rest assured that your actions are vital to the national interest. In fact, the annual consumer bonanza unleashed in the last fiscal quarter is so central to defining life in the U.S. that the economy’s strength in the beginning of the following year is literally tied to how much stuff we buy. So get out there and do your duty: Buy American. Be American. Shop till you drop, and remember, this is what it means to be a patriot!
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Forged in the Bowels of Corruption: Pt 5

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 18, 2017

PART 1PART 2PART 3PART 4 — PART 5

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeUTT was established fourteen years ago. One estimate suggests T&T taxpayers have spent close to $2 billion on its upkeep. If an independent body has not evaluated UTT, it should do so and make its findings public. Citizens should look at UTT’s efficacy before government pours more money into its operations. Moreover, the following actions should be undertaken to make UTT a more viable institution:
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Sea Lots missing girls incident demands answers

Sea Lots incident demands answers

Express Editorial
December 14, 2017 – trinidadexpress.com

ViolenceThe discovery in an abandoned house in Sea Lots of three missing persons, two teenaged girls and a young woman of 20, raises worrying questions about how the police handle reports of missing persons and about the responsibility of communities to look out for the vulnerable in their midst.
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Sunset or sunrise, no support from Kamla

By Raffique Shah
December 13, 2017

Raffique ShahIf there was anything shocking about the opposition United National Congress members voting to scuttle the so-called anti-gang legislation in Parliament last week, it was the seemingly shocked expressions on the faces of the Prime Minister, the Attorney General and other members of government.

I was shocked that they were shocked by the opposition vote. Did Dr Rowley and his ministers really expect Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her colleagues to support the Government in any bid to fight crime? Any street-smart Trini could have told the PM long before the Bill came up for debate that the UNC would not allow it to be passed in the House.
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