‘Only CoP and God Knows Why’

Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church
Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church
By Andre Bagoo
Friday, July 2 2010 – newsday.co.tt

WITH AN estimated $5 million in materials and equipment now removed from the site of the controversial church project at the Heights of Guanapo, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday said he was “mad, upset and vex” in the wake of what he described as the “wanton looting” of the building which led to its collapse on Wednesday.
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Great is the PNM. But will it prevail?

Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley
By Selwyn Ryan
June 27, 2010 – trinidadexpress.com

Two years ago, Ken Valley expressed the view that Patrick Manning had done some good things for Trinidad and Tobago, and that the People’s National Movement (PNM) ought to protect his legacy. ’If we leave him as political leader, he’ll continue to slide…I have an obligation towards the PNM and Trinidad. If we don’t intervene, the PNM will lose the next election.’ Mr Valley may have been a better prophet than Rev Pena.
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T&T and Australia — Lesson No. 24 — Queen: Comparative Analysis

Prime Minister of Australia Ms. Julia Gillard and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar
PM of Australia Ms. Julia Gillard (Photo: Adam Carr) and
PM of Trinidad & Tobago Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
June 27, 2010

Recent political events in T&T and Australia have brought to the fore the stark reality that there has to be something magical and/or lucky in number 24—Queen.

On 24 January 2010, United National Congress (UNC) supporters voted Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar as the new political leader of the UNC.
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Myth of all men created equal

By Raffique Shah
June 27, 2010

Oil SpillTWO weeks ago in India, seven local managers who worked with Union Carbide at its Bhopal plant in 1984 were sentenced to two years imprisonment and each fined US$2,100. There was outrage outside the Delhi court, and understandably so. Those of us who recall that night of horror that was followed by years of additional pain, deaths, disfiguration and death-dealing afflictions, will never forget it. The Bhopal disaster proved that all men (and women) are not created equal. In death, they are even more unequal.
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Pulling a Masterstroke

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner and leader of government business Roodal Moonila share a laugh in Parliament - June 25, 2010
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner and leader of government business Roodal Moonila share a laugh in Parliament - June 25, 2010
By Dr. Selwyn R Cudjoe
June 26, 2010

For all intents and purposes, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar pulled a master stroke when she announced that she would hold the next local government elections on July 26.
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THA Picking a Fight

Office of the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly
Office of the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly
Newsday Editorial
June 24, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

On Monday THA Finance Secretary Dr Anselm London as much as challenged TT’s Finance Minister Winston Dookeran to a financial duel.

In his 2010-2011 Budget presentation, Dr London dismissed Dookeran’s concerns about the state of the TT treasury as rhetoric, almost alleging the former central bank governor’s comments were aimed solely at keeping Tobago back.
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Tourism, Culture and Decentralization

By Derren Joseph
June 24, 2010

Maracas BayToday I continue from last week’s exploration of tourism as a key component in our diversification thrust. There are three points to be made – there is a nexus between tourism and culture, domestic tourism is critical and greater decentralization which empowers communities to develop and implement local development plans are necessary.
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The case for a local police commissioner

Acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert
Acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert
By Tony Fraser
June 23, 2010 – guardian.co.tt

Finding a new Commissioner of Police is not merely about recruiting the man with the right skills-set and experience, and if that individual be a foreigner then so be it. A Commissioner of Police is one of the principal officers of the State, at the helm of the main institution of national security. Having a national in that position is about the society demonstrating the capacity to govern itself 48 years after having achieved political independence. If the argument is that there is no one within the service with the capacity to successfully perform the job of commissioner, that would be an indictment not only on the senior officers in the service but on the political and administrative managers of the service over the period 1962 to the present.
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Should the PNM Govern Us Again?

By Stephen Kangal
June 22, 2010

PNMThe sober question that my favourite T&T electorate must address dispassionately is whether in the face of the sordid and blemished history/culture of widespread, pervasive, repeated corruption, vandalisation and pillaging of the public purse it can ever put God out of its mind and elect the PNM to mis-govern and bleed this country again?
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The Changing Social and Political Landscape of Trinidad and Tobago

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 22, 2010

(A Lecture delivered at the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards)

The PeopleI wanted to thank my friend Brian Moore for inviting me to address you as a part of the educational lectures that are being offered by the Bureau of Standards to acquaint workers about common trends in the society that are likely to make them more efficient in what they do. I also wanted to remind them that anytime they reduce their work to its mere technocratic dimensions they set themselves on a road that misses the essence of the jobs they perform for their society and their constant evolution as informed workers. Therefore, it is good thing to be here today to share with you my sense of what transpired over the last month in the society and why I believe that Trinidad and Tobago has arrived at another level of its social and political development.
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