Category Archives: PNM

Culture, General T&T, India, PNM, Race and Identity

Home Bound

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 30, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe[This essay was written by Joy Clarke, a student at Wellesley College. I thought I would share it with my readers. It has been edited for purposes of length]

If literature is a signification of the emotional conscious of a people then V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas is a literary masterpiece. It traces the life of Mohun Biswas, a man of East Indian descent living in Trinidad following the end of Indian indentured servitude. Mr. Biswas’ life is one of struggle, pain and his longing to find a place to call home. The reader is taken on a journey to locate home on several levels. On the surface is Mr. Biswas’s profound desire to own a home while the subtext suggests that a search for a national homeland for a people who were removed from their natal homeland of India.
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General T&T, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Mewey Cwismas, Trinis

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By Raffique Shah
December 26, 2010

Raffique ShahI WAS reluctant writing this column on the eve of Christmas, knowing it will appear in print on Boxing Day, that it would probably upset some people. Then it occurred to me that a significant number of adults would crawl out of their beds or wherever they may have slept last night, feeling like faecal matter of one kind or other. So, if anything, my thoughts would blend nicely with whatever brand of antacid they pour down their hatches in preparation for another day of overindulgence. Mewey Cwismas, people!
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General T&T, India, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity, Religion

Standing Firm in Our Nation’s Faith

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 22, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe steeple of St. Mary’s Anglican Church is the first landmark that greets anyone who enters the village of Tacarigua from its western side. Although the present building was constructed in 1901, this architectural splendor has been a part of the village landscape since 1843. On August 22, 1901, the Mirror reported that “the old parish Church of St. Mary’s is now leveled to the ground with the exception of the western wall, which it is believed will form part of the new St. Mary’s.” Directly across the Eastern Main Road is the St. Mary’s Children Home. Its first building was constructed in 1857 to accommodate East Indian children whose parents were lost during the long crossing from India to Trinidad.
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General T&T, Law, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UDeCOTT

Law, order and our leaders

By Dana Seetahal
December 18, 2010 – trinidadexpress.com

Dana SeetahalWhen I heard Mayor Louis Lee Sing’s statement that he was going to ask the Port of Spain Magistrate’s Court to set midnight as the hour that bars must stop selling liquor in St James and Woodbrook I wondered whether he appreciated there was a separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive.
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Africa, Culture, Elections, General T&T, India, People's Partnership, PNM, Race and Identity, UNC

Cudjoe’s Indian Time Ah Come

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Cudjoe’s Indian Time Ah Come Part 1

By Sat Maharaj – December 02, 2010

Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, Satnarayan MaharajWhen my friend Prof Selwyn Cudjoe invited me to deliver the feature address at the launch of his latest publication, Indian Time Ah Come In Trinidad and Tobago, my first response was that this was a set-up. Was Selwyn attempting to portray Sat Maharaj and Indians in general as a group glorifying in the political success of the People’s Partnership in a boastful way?
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Finance, General T&T, Media, Opposition Party, PNM, Politics

Split in the PNM?

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PNM Walkout

Newsday Editorial
December 08 2010 – newsday.co.tt

PNMOpposition Chief Whip Marlene Mc Donald may shut her eyes to reality, play word games and deny her parliamentary bench is split, but Friday’s partial walkout of the Chamber can leave few in doubt of the power struggle that is confusing the PNM side. Friday’s division of the bench showed TT what it has for six months suspected: since losing office, there has existed a tug of war in the Parliament between MPs loyal to new Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and representatives sympathetic to their former chief, Patrick Manning. Friday was a physical manifestation of the current PNM political reality.
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Complaints, Finance, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

A Presidential Challenge

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 01, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWhat does the president of a country do when he is asked to break the law? He responds firmly and comes down on the side of the law knowing that political leaders are always more concerned about gaining partisan advantage than respecting the laws they were elected to uphold. The Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago has sent a letter to the President of the Republic demanding that he revokes the appointments of the non-executive directors of the Central Bank before their respective terms expire.
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Business, corruption, Court, Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, International, Internet Issues, Law, Media, Opposition Party, Parliament, PNM, Politics, Security

I spy, with my electronic eye…

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By Raffique Shah
November 20, 2010

Raffique ShahAs I write this column, Government is before Parliament presenting the Interception of Communications bill, which it expects to pass in a marathon sitting. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she hoped to get support from the opposition PNM, which I feel certain she will.
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corruption, Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, International, Law, Media, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Security, UNC

Manning comes out fighting

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SpyingSandy Hits ‘Manic Man’
MINISTER of National Security Brigadier John Sandy yesterday tore into former prime minister Patrick Manning as a “manic man” with “a sick mind” for the wiretapping of persons in public life by a secret spy unit that reported to Manning.

Manning comes out fighting (link fixed)
…says ‘spy’ bill will undermine national security
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corruption, Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, Law, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Setting a Proper Example

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 16, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI did not vote for the People’s National Movement (PNM) during the last national election. Like so many, I became so disenchanted with the positions and attitudes of the former Prime Minister that I could not, in good faith, support the party which I always supported and of which I am a member. I did not vote for the People’s Partnership (PP) either. Theirs was merely a throwing together of disparate elements whose only objective was to remove the PNM. They had no plans for the country, except for a provision of computers for our students and a promised old-age pension of $3,000 which they repudiated the first day they walked into office. They informed an eager population that it really was not a promise: it was a misprint.
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