Category Archives: Politics

Elections, General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC

SS Trinidad Sinking

31 Comments

By Raffique Shah
August 19, 2015

Raffique ShahAmidst the din of election campaigning—hundreds of ‘Kamla has a plan’ ads on all television stations during prime time, DJ music systems scouring the country daily, public meetings broadcast nightly on almost every radio and television station, more ads popping up every time you click on the Internet, assaults via phones and emails—I have yet to hear one frontline politician tell the people of this nation of the grim times the country faces if oil and gas prices keep tumbling, as they have done over the past two months.
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corruption, Elections, General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics, Schools, UNC

The Laptop Scandal

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 18, 2015

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI was at Maloney on Wednesday evening when Dr. Keith Rowley analyzed the Government’s laptop program. Dr. Rowley did not have to do much work since he read from a document that pointed out the introduction of laptops and the incorporation of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in our schools “had no statistically significant impact on student performance.” It also found that staff and student groups registered “a relatively high dissatisfaction with the provision of internet service” and the implementation of the laptop program.
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Elections, General T&T, Media, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC

PM’s powder puff question time

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By Keith Subero
August 04, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarIf the Prime Minister, her PR handlers, and state-owned CNMG television intended to produce 90 minutes of absurd theatre then they should claim last Thursday night a “brilliant success”.

The concept of the Theatre of the Absurd is recognised for its seemingly meaningless and repetitious dialogue. Its plots are usually confusing, empty, disjointed, unrealistic, and intended in some way to identify futility in the human condition.
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Elections, General T&T, Politics, Racism Watch, UNC

Please, not the Country Club

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By Raffique Shah
July 18, 2015

Raffique ShahWHEN you don’t have a sense of history, especially your own, you can end up saying or doing the stupidest things, convinced that you are yourself making history.

Take the UNC’s choice of venue for its last Monday night meeting, the Country Club in Maraval. When I first heard the advertisement for the meeting, I thought there must have been some mistake, that maybe some upper-class support group had organised a soirée or banquet or some such social event to raise funds for the party’s campaign.
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Crime in T&T, Politics

Mismanaging the economy

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By Raffique Shah
July 05, 2015

Raffique ShahIN the pre-election polls conducted thus far, the issues that are of concern to the electorate are crime, unemployment, corruption, health care and rising prices, mostly in that order.

The state of the economy does not feature at all, although it impacts almost all these concerns.

Understandably, crime is the number one issue. Notwithstanding claims by both the Government and the police that there have been significant decreases in “serious crimes”, clearly, most people live in fear of being victims.
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General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, Media, Politics

President Carmona, the IC and the public

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Guardian Editorial
July 05, 2015 – guardian.co.tt

President Anthony CarmonaThe problem is that members of the public might have been so distracted by the President’s rumshop reference—a terse dismissal of their questions and concerns—that crucial aspects of his statement might have been lost.

President Anthony Carmona’s reference to “rumshop logic” in describing citizens’ comments about the latest fallouts from the Integrity Commission is unfortunate. Not only did it defeat what was an otherwise laudable attempt to bring clarity to an issue that has long been a focus of national concern and debate, it has also reinforced recent negative perceptions of that agency. The President was well within his rights to deal with the matter at length—he was, after all the focus of much of the criticisms following the latest implosion of that august body. Unfortunately, his choice of words and his condescending tone served to alienate rather then enlighten.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Police, Politics, Violence

TT scores low on global peace list

By Julien Neaves
July 05, 2015 – newsday.co.tt

ViolenceTRINIDAD and Tobago has received its lowest ranking ever on an international peace list as the country continues to have maximum scores for homicides and violent crimes, and high scores for perceptions of criminality and access to weapons.

Former National Security Minister Gary Griffith, however, says the ranking should be taken with a “pinch of salt” while a local criminologist says it is not telling citizens anything they do not live as a reality.
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Elections, General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC

Rowley Must Clear the Pre-Debates Decks

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By Stephen Kangal
June 17, 2015

Stephen KangalExpelled-from-Parliament MP Dr Keith Rowley and leader of the PNM is under political and moral obligation to clear the decks of those incriminating issues still hanging over him like swords of Damocles before he can be admitted into the Leaders Debates chamber to stand up as an equal to the Prime Minister and leader of the UNC. He must issue an apology to the Speaker of the House and to those MP’s whose reputation has been sullied by his deliberate falsehoods and fabrications.
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