General T&T, International, Italy

The Monumentality of it All

3 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 14, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIt’s Sunday, September 4th. I am in Rome, Italy. The sun is ablaze but it is not a Trinidad hot sun. There is no breeze and the heat radiates from the earth, making you feel as if you are being roasted alive. I visit the Palazzo Barberini, the National Gallery of Ancient Art that was conceived to celebrate the artistic passion of Maffeo Barberini who became Pope Urban VIII in 1623. As a cardinal, he sponsored many artists with his patronage.
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General T&T, International, USA

Remember the FIRST Sept 11th

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lettersTHE EDITOR: September 11 marks a profoundly tragic event in world history. On this fateful day and in the coming years, thousands of lives were lost or permanently destroyed. So many people were disappeared, to date unaccounted for. The events of that day so many years ago continue to affect the lives of countless people and societies to this very day.
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Food, General T&T, Health

Man must eat—but so much junk?

7 Comments

By Raffique Shah
September 05, 2016

Raffique ShahEven as most people cry out loudly about the state of the national economy, relating sad stories about the hard times they face, the high prices of almost everything and the unavailability of some things, especially critical medications, a Starbucks coffee house opened its doors for business last week.

According to news reports, scores of customers queued on the pavement outside the business, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to buy their first “cuppa” from the famous American-owned international chain. Prices range from $42 down.
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Culture, General T&T, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, UNC

A Cry for Social Justice

15 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 05, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn his article “Black Caucus, Black Humor,” Raymond Ramcharitar pours scorn on the BCM’s (Black Caucus Movement) demand for “land in Caroni for ‘Africans’ and saying it’s a love thing” (Guardian, August 17). He sought to reduce its position to “black humor” and to deride its claim for social justice it wishes to bring to the public’s attention.
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Education, General T&T, Schools

Intellectual Honesty

19 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 29, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn the latter part of the 19th century when thinkers were reducing Karl Marx’s notion of man’s economic dimensions (an analysis he began in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844) to saying man is an economic animal exclusively, Frederick Engels wrote to Joseph Bloch on September 21, 1890: “According to the materialist conception of history, the ultimately determining element in history is the production and reproduction of real life. Other than this neither Marx nor I ever asserted. Hence if somebody twists this into saying that the economic element is the only determining one, he transforms that proposition into a meaningless, abstract, senseless phrase.”
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Elections, General T&T, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Recession, UNC

Half truths and manifestos

5 Comments

By Raffique Shah
Submitted: August 23, 2016
Posted: August 28, 2016

Raffique ShahI don’t know that the majority of people in the country are influenced in any way by the manifestos presented by various parties—in our case two, one from the UNC/PP and the other from the PNM.

In fact, I believe few people, likely less than ten percent of the electorate, read these voluminous documents. In my case, I sought the synopses of the presenters because I know they will have highlighted what they saw as the fundamentals of what they would implement if elected, and certainly their most marketable offerings.
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General T&T, International, Sports

Saluting speed, strength and stamina

3 Comments

By Raffique Shah
Submitted: August 16, 2016
Posted: August 28, 2016

Raffique ShahBy the time I was ready to turn in on Sunday night, my pulse rate was back to normal, and like the Buddha you encounter at the entrances to many Thai restaurants, I wore a silly grin, like a man whose appetite was sated.

No, I did not overeat: I was overfed with athletics performances—and it was only Day 3 of nine days of track and field events at the Rio Olympics. Usain Bolt, who has stamped his authority as the greatest sprinter ever, almost gave me a heart attack by trailing druggist Justin Gatlin up to the half-way mark in the 100 metres final. Then he delivered, in style—but I was nervously massaging my chest!
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General T&T, Media, PNM, Schools

No more take home laptops for students

11 Comments

By Rhondor Dowlat
August 27, 2016 – guardian.co.tt

LaptopPupils who will be entering Form One in secondary schools in the new school term, which opens on September 5, will face disappointment as they will not be receiving free personal laptops from the Government.

Instead, the Government, in revamping the laptop distribution programme, will seek to equip 50 high-quality laptops per school.
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Elections, General T&T, PNM, Politics, Religion

Normalizing Non-sense

3 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 22, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOne of our problems in Trinidad and Tobago is our attempt, sometimes, to normalize non-sense and call it wisdom. Take the non-sense offered by Joan Yuille-Williams that Patrick Manning called the 2010 election to expand our democracy or that by so doing he expanded our democratic possibilities. Not content with such non-sense she threw God into the mix as if to say, “God make him do it.”
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