Analysis by Jennifer Viegas
Monday July 18, 2011 – discovery.com
If your heritage is non-African, you are part Neanderthal, according to a new study in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution. Discovery News has been reporting on human/Neanderthal interbreeding for some time now, so this latest research confirms earlier findings.
Continue reading All Non-Africans Part Neanderthal, Genetics Confirm
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 20, 2011
Dr. Tim Gopeesingh, Minister of Education, is a gynecologist by training. He is not an educator. At the very least, his response to my inquiry proves his mis-understanding about how a Minister of Education functions. Anyone who has been following this controversy (See “Probe SEA Results” in the July 13 issue of and my subsequent letter to the Minister of Education, July 17 Trinidad Mirror) knows that I only sought to bring to the Minister’s attention the statistical improbability of 14 students from one class placing within the first one hundred students in the recent SEA examinations.
Continue reading The Mis-Education of Tim Gopeesingh
By Derren Joseph
July 19, 2011
In my opinion, we in T&T have a special relationship with Guyana and Grenada partly because of the regular movement of people among these territories. When I visited St Lucia for Jazz, I was surprised by the number of Martiniquans I met there, but I subsequently discovered that there is regular movement of people between St Lucia and Martinique, thanks to a fairly reliable ferry service.
Continue reading Call for strong policy on open skies
Emancipation Day Special: Part 1
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
July 19, 2011
As T&T celebrates the United Nations-sponsored “International Year for People of African Descent,” it is a sine qua non to analyze/investigate the crucial reality of being Trinbagonian versus, albeit compared to, being of African descent in this Euro-centric environment.
The stark reality is that the ordinary Trinbagonian of African descent does not regard himself or herself as African. He/she is Trinbagonian, period.
Continue reading Trinbagonian versus African Descent
PRESS RELEASE
The Government is pleased to announce that the court action brought by the operators of Airone Limited, trading as REDjet, commercial air services, against the Civil Aviation Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and Mr. Amral Mohammed, in his capacity as Chairman of the Air Transport Licensing Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has been settled on terms which are mutually acceptable to all parties.
Continue reading Government Approves REDjet to Fly
By Raffique Shah
July 17, 2011
“‘Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction; if it could be told,
How much would novels gain by the exchange!
How differently the world would men behold!”
(Lord Byron, Don Juan, 1823)
IN Frederick Forsyth’s 2010 novel, Cobra, the central character, Paul Devereaux, a former CIA agent, is tasked by his President (mucho resemblance to Barack Obama) to put an end to the cocaine menace that is strangling America. Devereaux demands, and is given, $2 billion plus a carte blanche instrument of authority to launch his war on the Colombian Cartel and its global tentacles. He hires as his operations officer a former foe, Calvin Dexter, and within one year they put together a powerful machine of personnel and equipment that attacks Don Diego and his overlords with extreme prejudice, as such exercises are described.
Continue reading Wage war to win peace
July 16, 2011
IN TRIBUTE
Rose Janneire
The National Association for the Empowerment of African People (NAEAP) joins the nation in recognizing the many services Ms. Janneire rendered to the nation. Ms. Janneire joined NAEAP in 2000, two years after it was founded, and worked arduously with the organization to transform the landscape of African people in this country. She served as a trustee in the organization and for many years controlled the finances of the organization.
Continue reading NAEAP’s Condolences for Rose Janneire
July 14, 2011
Dr. Tim Gopesingh, Minister
Ministry of Education,
Port of Spain
Trinidad
Dear Dr. Gopeesingh:
I am sure that you were pleased as I was to learn that 14 students from one class in the Chaguanas Government School placed among the top one hundred students in the recent SEA Examination. Initially, my instinct was to accept the result and to applaud the exemplary teaching that takes place in that school; that is, until allegations of cheating were brought to my attention. Although I wanted to disregard this unfortunate conclusion, my desire for fairness led me to contact a statistician from William Patterson University in New Jersey, USA, and a mathematician from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to determine the statistical possibility of such a result occurring.
Continue reading Letter to Minister of Education on SEA Results
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 13, 2011
“How come one school could get 14 passes in the top one hundred places of the SEA,” asked the irate caller on the phone, and drew her own conclusion: “Dey had to tief.”
After she calmed down she explained her anxiety. She was referring to the fact that 14 students from Chaguanas Government School placed among the top one hundred students at the recent SEA examination. To her mind, that was impossible.
Continue reading Probe SEA Results
Why do I go on and on about tourism? The answer is that in the Caribbean, tourism is everything. It is the biggest generator of income and the biggest employer. Even oil-rich Trinidad has energy, manufacturing and service sectors that are heavily dependent on regional markets. These regional markets would collapse without tourism. Ask any Trini that travels regionally about how grocery shelves up and down the Caribbean are stocked with Trini brands. Our island neighbours buy smoothies and enjoy free Internet access at Rituals. Our island neighbours often bank at Republic Bank or get insurance from known Trini insurance companies. To understand tourism trends, is to understand the ups and downs of our regional economy. Our region is one inextricably linked market–despite what politicians say.
Continue reading Need for Transparency in Tourism