General T&T, Passed on, PNM, Politics, UDeCOTT

An accidental leader

4 Comments

By Raffique Shah
July 07, 2016

Raffique ShahThe end, when it came, brought relief from some five years of suffering, and pre-empted additional torture from treatment for cancer, which many have described as being worse than the disease itself.

Patrick Manning’s sister, Petronella, who is a medical doctor, said as much in her grief-stricken state. And his wife Hazel, who stood solidly at his side during the worst of times, both physically and politically, absorbed the shock of his death with aplomb.
Continue reading An accidental leader →

England, European Union, France, General T&T, International

Take Yo’ Language an’ Go

2 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 07, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeFor all intents and purposes, GB (Great Britain) has not only lost its political and economic standing within the EU (European Union), it has also lost its linguistic clout. English, French and German are the three working languages of the EU. Documents are published in these three languages, but its business is conducted primarily in English. Now, the EU has demanded that Great Britain take its language and leave. It’s almost like asking Great Britain to take the great out of its name.
Continue reading Take Yo’ Language an’ Go →

England, France, General T&T, International, Syria, USA

Referendum rooted in fear

3 Comments

By Raffique Shah
June 28, 2016

Raffique ShahThe referendum was never about Britain getting a raw deal in the European Union and wanting out so that it can prosper on its own. It wasn’t even about voting to stop the hordes of barbarian refugees at the gates of the castle, given its natural moats, the Channel, the North Sea, which, at other critical moments in history, stopped would-be invaders like Hitler dead in their tracks.
Continue reading Referendum rooted in fear →

General T&T, Passed on

Don’t Mourn for La Borde Now

3 Comments

lettersTHE EDITOR: Last weekend I looked at a photo of Coast Guard ratings bearing the body of Harold La Borde and wondered if I was the only one who felt it was just a shallow, hypocritical charade.

I mean it’s not like the La Borde’s amazing achievements of sailing around the globe in a litte yacht he built right here meant anything. In other countries – y’know, those where self-contempt does not run as deep as it does here – what Harold, Kwailan and Pierre La Borde did would have been held up as models of inspiration for fellow countrymen and women. There was so much they did that spoke to the power of imagination and perseverance.
Continue reading Don’t Mourn for La Borde Now →

Features, General T&T, Labour, Politics, Protest

Butler and Rienzi

2 Comments

By Raffique Shah
June 26, 2016

Raffique ShahWithin recent years, annual Labour Day celebrations trigger accusations that the trade unions that mark the occasion with marches and speeches at Fyzabad pay homage only to Tubal Uriah Butler, never Adrian Cola Rienzi.

Such sentiments imply that Rienzi, whose original name was Krishna Deonarine, is ignored by labour because of his race. They suggest that his contribution to trade unions in the country through registration and leadership of both the oil workers’ OWTU and the sugar workers’ ATSEFWTU in 1937 was as critical to the recognition and development of labour as Butler’s charismatic appeal to the masses.
Continue reading Butler and Rienzi →

Gender, General T&T, International, Sex Crimes, USA, Violence

Gay and Straight Together

8 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 22, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Monday evening, like so many people across America, I attended a vigil in honor of the 49 people who were gunned down at Pulse Night Club in Orlando just because some folks hate gay people. I was on my way to London but stopped in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to gather my papers and other necessities for my trip. In that small town of 28,000 people, about fifteen miles outside of Boston, I joined about three hundred people on the lawn of Wellesley’s Town Hall who had come together to stand in solidarity with those who had lost their loved ones in Florida.
Continue reading Gay and Straight Together →

General T&T, Health, International, Passed on

Professor Dave Chadee has died

8 Comments

By Akilah Stewart
June 22, 2016

Professor Dave Chadee and postgraduate student Akilah Stewart at the closing ceremony of the 23rd Annual Caribbean Water and Waste Water Conference (CWWA), Bahamas, October, 2014
Professor Dave Chadee and postgraduate student Akilah Stewart at the closing ceremony of the 23rd Annual Caribbean Water and Waste Water Conference (CWWA), Bahamas, October, 2014

Known by various titles, “The Mosquito Man” amongst others, Professor Dave Chadee, 62, has died. He succumbed to a massive heart attack yesterday, June 21st, at around 4:30 p.m.
Continue reading Professor Dave Chadee has died →

Finance, General T&T, Media, Parliament, PNM, Recession, UNC

Pay hikes proposed for PM, Cabinet, Opposition

8 Comments

By Richard Lord
June 21, 2016 – guardian.co.tt

ParliamentFresh moves are underway to increase the salaries of the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, the Opposition Leader and all other MPs.

This is as a Salaries Review Commission (SRC) consultant met with senior Government and Opposition MPs last week to initiate the process for the hike.
Continue reading Pay hikes proposed for PM, Cabinet, Opposition →