By Raffique Shah
Sunday, November 30, 2008
EVEN as India’s elite military units were flushing out the remnants of the terrorists who launched a bloody, well-coordinated attack on several symbolic targets in Mumbai, the blame-game was underway. Predictably, Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, openly accused Pakistan of being behind the attacks. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was more diplomatic in his comments, as was his Foreign Minister. What is clear, though, is following this multi-pronged assault on that country’s commercial capital, war between India and Pakistan is a strong possibility.
Continue reading Religious zealots take us to the brink
The Tobacco Bill now being debated in Parliament seems to be a case of using a shotgun to kill a mosquito. And, as with a shotgun, there is the danger of injuring innocent bystanders while the mosquito flies free.
So we have come full circle-responding only when the White “massa”, or “missus” in this case, wields the whip. Government has belatedly decided to review its expenditure in light of the global financial and economic crises. The announcement to that effect came immediately after the IMF’s Christina Daseking warned government about its spending spree, saying it must rein in unnecessary expenditure if the country is to weather the global storm.
CALL me The Trini-Spirit. In this incarnation I wield power and influence over all in this land. Like a true Trini-Genie, I pop out of a bottle and control the minds of men and women, from ministers and criminals to aberrations like Juliet Davy. When I see the antics of our politicians, criminals and crazed-motorists, I feel proud they all sip from my bottle and not any bogus chalice.
If the Government is so intent on having citizens use Compressed Natural Gas, Ministers should start by converting their own vehicles to CNG. Speaking in the Senate last Thursday on the issue, Minister in the Finance Ministry Mariano Browne was very gung-ho about all the benefits that would accrue to consumers and the wider society through CNG conversion: fewer emissions, less wear and tear on engines, fewer oil changes, and reduction in engine noise. If this is so, then Mr Browne and his colleagues need to take the lead in installing conversion kits into their new vehicles purchased at low interest rates thanks to their standing as Members of Parliament.
One of the hidden, unnoticed and unsung variables in the recently concluded United States Presidential elections was the Bob Marley effect in Senator Barack Obama’s run for the United States presidency and his awesome victory.