By Stephen Kangal
December 23, 2006
Simultaneous with my recent objections to the notes of the tenor pan being elevated by the National Symbols and Observances Committee (NSOC) to the status of an exclusive cultural symbol to represent the distinctive Indian cultural presence in T&T in the medallion of the OTR and being snowed in by an avalanche of criticisms reinforcing and re-asserting pan as the national instrument, I must now call into question, in this context, Pan Trinbago’s “black mail” mantra and/or ultimatum of:
Continue reading Exploding the Pan National Instrument Myth
A Two Thousand Year Search For Peace gets no closer to actuality as 2006 comes to a close. Daily, the dead bodies pile up in the Middle East. In Gaza, where the Israelis (not the Children of Israel) continue to slaughter Palestinians and take their land, while such atrocities continue to be funded by American taxpayers, of whom I am one. Further to the east, in Iraq, children and grandmothers die daily as violence of brother against brother, as well as American death incursions continue to take their toll on humanity.
The increasing change in carrier preference in the international transport industry by passengers over the past decade and a half, spurred on by the horrendous events of September 11, 2001, along with the seeming reluctance of trade unions representing BWIA workers to appreciate this is the principal reason why BWIA had to be closed down and replaced with Caribbean Airlines.
Re: Mandatory Conduct of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Prior to the Award of a Certificate of Environmental Certificate (CEC) for the Design, Build, Operate and Manage (DBOM) Contract for the Establishment of the Rapid Rail System (RRS) by the Ministry of Works and Transport
I have been thinking about my approach to Christmas which many have described as being that of a Scrooge, not a Santa. True. I dislike seeing people exhaust all their earnings and savings on this one occasion, only to have to resort to borrowing to survive the few months afterwards. It happens to most low-to-middle income earners. With portents of global warming soon bringing an end to all life as we know it, what the hell? So let the masses overeat, drink excessively, and be merry. As for me, I shall join the fete, even transforming myself into Santa. I’m sharing gifts aplenty, too-starting, as usual, with the big boys and girls.
Fraud Squad officers in San Fernando and Port of Spain yesterday, following the publication of the Express front page story, received a number of calls from people who said they had fallen victim to an international lotto scam. Police said that people from areas throughout the country had responded to the story about Trinidadians being fleeced in internet and postal lotto frauds.
The symposium on the aluminum industry in Trinidad and Tobago which took place this past Wednesday was the most positive development in the entire smelter issue so far. For the first time in this two year old debate, the nation was presented with credible, relevant and current information on all of the major aspects of the proposed smelters. This included information and research on the economic, social, engineering, legal, and environmental concerns and implications, as well as on the Global Aluminum Industry, presented by local and international experts with decades of experience.