By Raffique Shah
October 2, 2011
I HAVE always seen sexual assault of a woman as the most heinous crime a man could commit. There are other gruesome criminal acts, of course, such as murder by multiple chop-wounds, kidnapping and torturing victims, and brutal acts of violence against children and geriatrics who cannot defend themselves. Some may argue that all crimes in which the victims suffer physical abuse can be deemed heinous.
Continue reading Encounters with serial rapists
By Corey Gilkes
October 01, 2011
On Wednesday I went to MovieTowne in Port of Spain for the first time ever (no, seriously). Now before the last seven friends I have left in this world get vex with me, rest assured I haven’t had a change of heart and decided to be like everyone else. It was only because that was where the documentary “Fire in Babylon” was being shown and allyuh know how strongly I feel about cricket and social consciousness. So yuh boy gone and took in the thing (and again on Sunday to see the documentary on the Black Power Movement “70s the Movie”).
Continue reading My Two Cents on ‘fire in Babylon’: And a Slightly Different Take on ‘Calypso Cricket’
“…he is, unquestionably, the greatest Trinidadian of the 20th Century – the person who has had the greatest influence on the affairs of the country…”
By Jeff Hackett
Express
March 26, 1998
In the 1950s and 1960s, word was that the late Dr. Eric Williams was “the third brain in the world”.
Nobody bothered to provide the identities of the persons ahead of Dr. Williams – members and supporters of the People’s National Movement (PNM) were quite happy with his international cerebral rating.
Continue reading Eric Williams Remembered: The Man, The Myth
recalcitrant
1. resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
2. hard to deal with, manage, or operate.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recalcitrant
Did Dr. Eric Williams brand all Indians “a hostile and recalcitrant minority”? And, why did he make such a statement?
***
Excerpt from Dr. Winston Mahabir
“When the PNM lost the Federal Election in 1958, Eric Williams looked no futher than the Indians for a scapegoat. In a most unfortunate speech he branded them as ‘a hostile and recalcitrant minority.’
Continue reading “A hostile and recalcitrant minority”
Q & A with Gordon Rohlehr
By Kim Johnson
Sunday and Monday Express
June 28 & 29, 1998
Gordon Rohlehr, a professor of literature at UWI, is well known for his encyclopaedic writings on calypso, as well as his many writings on other themes including West Indian literature and culture in general. Recently he has published a serialized essay in the T&T Review on Eric Williams and cultural policy. Here the Sunday Express’ Kim Johnson invites Prof. Rohlehr to expand on some of the issues he raised in the Review.
Continue reading The Culture Of Williams
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 28, 2011
Perhaps it is one of those crazy though explicable Trinbagonian things. Dr. Eric Williams is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished citizens ever to have bestridden our country over the last two hundred years. Yet, there was not one official ceremony in Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate the centenary of his birth. I say, “one of the most distinguished citizens” because over its long history there have been many distinguished Trinbagonian men and women such a J. J. Thomas, Maxwell Philip, Captain Arthur Cipriani, Colon Adrian Renzi, Lionel Sukeran, Audrey Jeffers, Mother Gerald and Mac Donald Bailey. Sadly none of these names ever come to mind when we think of our achievements, access our social and cultural capital, and determine are our civic and spiritual values.
Continue reading Celebrating the Centenary of Dr. Williams’ Birth
THE EDITOR: Raymond Ramcharitar’s 21/9/11 piece on Africentrism [How to do the Afrocentric Hustle] was a shameless display of intellectual laziness and generalising with enough vitriol to hint at something I won’t even dignify here with a mention. Which is unfortunate because it took away from a message that contained some validity. There’re quite a few scholars, politicians, artistes and activists who exploit enslavement, colonialism and Euro-centred racism to excuse self-defeatist attitudes and who manipulate racial insecurities, narrow tribalism and ideas of entitlement to retard real self-development among Afro-Trinis.
Continue reading Reply to Raymond Ramcharitar’s Africentrism
By Raffique Shah
September 24, 2011
THIRTY-FIVE years ago yesterday, I became an MP in the first Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It was an historic moment in many ways. I affirmed, meaning I did not take an oath using one of the holy books, which was not a first. But when I raised a clenched fist, symbol of the Black Power movement, as Clerk of the House Emmanuel Carter administered the affirmation, I glanced at Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams.
Continue reading Remembering Eric Williams
Suspect in Central rapes surrenders on ‘Crime Watch’
By Gyasi Gonzales and Camille Bethel
UPDATED: September 25, 2011 – Trinidad Express
Four men are now in police custody for the robbery and rape of the Central mother and daughter and police say the arrest of a fifth man in connection with the incident is imminent.
Masked men broke into the family’s house in Longdenville, Chaguanas, around 2.30 a.m. on Thursday, raping the 49-year-old mother and her 17-year-old daughter and beating her two sons who were at home at the time. They stole cash and jewelry and the family’s car.
Continue reading Suspects Nabbed for Rape of Mother and Daughter
Most shocking
Newsday Editorial
September 21, 2011 – newsday.co.tt
Scandalous is the word for revelations about the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing at CL Financial, the cooking of the books, the hiring of a convicted felon to serve as the group’s global representative and other dubious deals geared toward fulfilling one, single-minded objective: the establishment of a global empire.
Continue reading Scandalous Wheeling and Dealing at CL Financial