Category Archives: International

Caribbean, General T&T, International, Tourism

Excitement over New Low Cost Carrier

7 Comments

By Derren Joseph
October 24, 2010

JetI think it was back in 2007 when I was working at Caribbean Airlines that I first heard about plans for a new Jamaica based Low Cost Carrier (LCC). The rumor was that it was born from the experience of Digicel Executives who were island hopping during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. They saw inefficiencies with the existing players and decided to turn this into a business opportunity. A December 7th 2007 article in the Jamaica Gleaner however, dismissed talk that Digicel was an investor but rather a sales partner.
Continue reading Excitement over New Low Cost Carrier →

General T&T, International, People's Partnership, Politics

Corridors of power living hell

3 Comments

By Raffique Shah
October 23, 2010

Raffique ShahI HAVE never been close to the corridors of power, except on occasions when those on high invited me to some meeting or social function. Regarding the latter, I should add that I have grown so asocial over the years, some people think I’ve become anti-social. I enjoy good company and great conversation. Having attended some of these social activities, I have found the same people there; they invariably get drunk the way “ignorant” Trinis do at rum shops, and they behave little different to boisterous bar flies.
Continue reading Corridors of power living hell →

Culture, General T&T, India, People's Partnership, Politics, Race and Identity

Connecting our Foreign Policy with the Diaspora

2 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
October 21, 2010

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarPrime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and her itinerant Foreign Minister Suruj Rambachan have both been extolling the important benefits of establishing closer functional links with our diaspora based in metropolitan Caribbean enclaves in North America and Europe as the rationale for radically reforming the priorities of our foreign policy. In fact both now have a shared political/administrative responsibility for the conceptualization and conduct of our foreign policy.
Continue reading Connecting our Foreign Policy with the Diaspora →

Crime in T&T, General T&T, India, International, Law, Media, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC, USA

Ish and Steve to be extradited to the US

16 Comments

By Nalinee Seelal and Corey Connelly
October 10 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve FergusonAfter weeks of speculation, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday signed an extradition order granting the United States Government the permission to extradite businessmen Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh to the United States to answer fraud charges.
Continue reading Ish and Steve to be extradited to the US →

General T&T, Health, International

Human Guinea Pigs

15 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 06, 2010

Scientist injecting patient in Tuskegee Syphilis StudyIt was a stunning announcement. The news reverberated around the world: United States researcher Government guilty of intentionally injecting hundreds of Guatemalans, including institutionalized mental patients, with gonorrhea and syphilis without their knowledge or permission. From 1946 to 1948, Dr. John Cutler and his colleagues conducted their studies with the blessings of the United States Health authorities and the Guatemalan government.
Continue reading Human Guinea Pigs →

Business, Drug Trade, Finance, General T&T, International, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Security

Govt to get OPV $B refund

8 Comments

Scarborough CG 51 vessel at BAE Systems' shipyard on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland
Scarborough CG 51 vessel at BAE Systems' shipyard
on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland
By Nalinee Seelal
September 30, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday confirmed Government has cancelled a deal with a Scotland-based shipbuilding company BAE Systems for the acquisition of three off-shore patrol vessels, ordered by the then PNM government at a cost of TT$1.5 billion.
Continue reading Govt to get OPV $B refund →

corruption, Crime in T&T, Drug Trade, General T&T, International, Latin America

Chaguaramas named in $830m drug bust off Spain

20 Comments

By Sampson Nanton
September 24, 2010

CocaineBritish and Spanish police are investigating why 1.5 tonnes of cocaine, worth close to $1 billion, left Chaguaramas earlier this month aboard a yacht headed for Spain. The yacht was traced across the Atlantic Ocean by satellite after it left Trinidad until Spanish Police intercepted it on Monday. The drug haul showed similar signs to one of the biggest drug cases in Ireland two years ago, which also had strong links to T&T. The La Flibuste yacht, a UK-flagged vessel, was moored at Chaguaramas earlier this month before leaving with the cargo of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a false roof of two of the cabins.
Continue reading Chaguaramas named in $830m drug bust off Spain →

Caribbean, Court, General T&T, International, Law, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics

Talking From Both Sides of Her Mouth

49 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 23, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA few days ago the Honorary Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Among other things she recognized that “the passport out of poverty is through education, community empowerment and social entrepreneurship.” She also acknoweldged that 16.7 percent of our people still live below the poverty line; 11.7 per cent are considered working poor whereas 9 per cent are deemed vulnerable. The goal, she says, is to reduce poverty by 2 per cent per year.
Continue reading Talking From Both Sides of Her Mouth →

Complaints, Crime in T&T, Death Penalty, General T&T, International, Law, People's Partnership, Politics, Violence

Corrupting the Minds of the Young

5 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 08, 2010

Jack WarnerI was in Italy when the scandal about the cheating of the Pakistani cricketers broke. When I got back to England last Monday, it was the only thing one read about in the English newspaper; the major story one heard on television. One would have thought that the Pakistanis had violated English honor and brought the gentleman’s game into absolute disrepute. It was not so much that the Parkistanis had cheated on the outcome of the game. They were accused on cheating of discrete aspects of the game such as bowling one or two deliberate no-balls which we are told resulted in the loss or gain of hundreds to thousand of dollars to criminal elements.
Continue reading Corrupting the Minds of the Young →

Culture, General T&T, International, Politics, USA

Our Strength is Our Diversity

9 Comments

By Derren Joseph
September 01, 2010

TrinidadiansThere was a most interesting YouGov poll conducted a couple weeks ago on the website for the Economist magazine – one of my favorite publications. One of the questions asked – Whether or not you think the Islamic cultural centre and mosque should be built near the World Trade Center site, do you think that Muslims have a constitutional right to build a mosque there? Interestingly, 53.2% of Republican respondents, 24.9% of Democrat respondents and 25.2% of Independents disagreed – they actually believed that Muslims did not have a constitutional right to build a mosque on what is actually private property. Although these polls may not meet the test for being statistically reliable, I would argue that they are quite insightful.
Continue reading Our Strength is Our Diversity →