Solidarity with Guadeloupe

By Gerry Kangalee
Food and Fuel Forum
43 Fifth St., Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
February 18, 2009

Food and Fuel ForumThe Food and Fuel Forum of Trinidad and Tobago offers, through the General Union of Guadeloupean Workers, UGTG, its deepest solidarity with the LKP, a grouping of forty seven peoples organisations, the workers and people of Guadeloupe as you pursue your general strike against the extreme exploitation that has been the lot of the masses of people in the French colonies in the Caribbean. We in Trinidad and Tobago also suffer the effects of the capitalist economic crisis and strongly empathise with the people of Guadeloupe.
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Soca Warriors Caused Me a Nightmare

By Stephen Kangal
February 18, 2009

Soca WarriorsThose tired-looking and lethargic T&T Soca Stars played as if they were in the twilight zone of their career in San Salvador. They were a disorganized and uncoordinated outfit, lacking- in- both team spirit and fight bunch of footballers as if belonging to the Eddie Hart League. Mind you they had just returned from an expensive exposure to best soccer training facilities in Argentina at enormous expense to the tax-payers of this country.
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Public relations goof

Newsday Editorial
Wednesday, February 11 2009

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog

Hindu Credit UnionContrary to reports that had been bruited around that government while it had moved swiftly to bail out Clico and three other CL Financial subsidiaries had not moved to assist the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) it was revealed on Monday that Government had offered a bail out package similar to the one presented to Clico, but that this had been rejected.
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Central Bank Governor Williams Must Resign

By Stephen Kangal
February 10, 2009

Central Bank Governor Ewart WilliamsIt is patently clear to me that had not CL Financial magnate Lawrence Duprey made his pre-emptive approach to Government in mid-January to mobilize State injection of liquidity into his cash-strapped investment bank, CIB, CMMB and insurance giants CLICO and British American it would have been business as usual to date.

But within the passage of a short time these major financial institutions would have eventually collapsed with catastrophic consequences for the savings of policy holders and depositors as well as for the rest of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. The Central Bank has been failing us the people of T&T for a long while. That is why Mr. Duprey the avant garde, visionary indigenous industrialist has retained our admiration. But the Government wants to hoff his crown jewels.
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Beyond Duprey

By Raffique Shah
February 08, 2009
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog

Lawrence DupreyUP TO ten days ago, Lawrence Duprey was one of most admired businessmen in Trinidad and Tobago. He was not self-made, as some of his peers and predecessors were. He inherited the biggest and strongest insurance company in the country founded by his uncle Cyril. But having taken over the reins of CLICO, he quickly moved to diversify the insurance giant’s vast resources, to venture where no other local entrepreneur had, into the downstream energy sector.
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From Peon to President

The Importance and Symbolism of President Barack Hussein Obama

By: Michael De Gale
January 30, 2009

Barack ObamaIn countries where people often face persecution because of race, ethnicity, religion and a myriad of social constructs intended to divide and rule, I often wonder how many brilliant minds have never come to blossom. Historians bemoan the knowledge that was lost when unenlightened foreigners invaded ancient lands burning books and reducing to ash what had already been known about the universe and about our progress as a species.
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Timing is Ripe for Talking to the Cubans

By Stephen Kangal
February 04, 2009

Fidel CastroContrary to the view expressed by Foreign Affairs Minister Gopee-Scoon the time is most propitious and ripe for the Inter-American System to be initiating dialogue with the regime of Raul Castro. President Barack Obama has signaled in clear, unambiguous language that US rapprochement with Cuba is on the cards especially with the closure of the Gitmo Detention Centre. He has also relaxed travel restrictions to Cuba by Cuban-Americans.
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Tourism down, Carnival dying

By Raffique Shah
February 01, 2009

TourismPOLITICIANS are wont to making the damnedest statements. This ugly trait is not confined to Trinidad and Tobago’s special breed that litters the political landscape. The recently booed-out-of-office US president George W Bush carved an unmatched record of making the stupidest remarks, maybe of all times. But among the lot that currently vie for media space in this country, we have some gems-or maybe that should be “fools’ gold”.
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