The Prime Minister as Goddess

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 13, 2011

Annabella stocking want patching
She want de doctah to help she with dat
Johnson trousers falling
He want de doctor help he wid dat
Some want a zephyr motor car
Others want a piece of land
[Now] Dorothy loss she man
She want to complain to Doctoh Williams.

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn 1958, as the demands upon Dr. Eric Williams grew, the Mighty Striker penned “Don’t Blame de PNM” in which he elevated Dr. Williams to the status of godhead. Dr. Williams may have been ironic in quoting this poem in his autobiography. However, Striker was on target when he satirized the fickleness of our people’s understanding of government when he observed that even when yo’ lose yo’ man, yo expect the prime minister to help yo’ with dat.
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Bridging the credibility gap

By Derren Joseph
December 13, 2011

Derren JosephTransparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks Trinidad and Tobago in position 91 out of 183 countries–falling from a 2010 rank of 73. Remember this is a temperature check of how corrupt we perceive our own public sector to be. So if you are a statistician; walk away–it is not a rigorous quantitative research methodology. If you are a politician, listen-up, as perception drives voting patterns. On one hand, it can be argued that this cannot be completely blamed on the present administration because it reflects a consistent slide from 2001 when we were ranked at 31.
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Diminishing Our Diplomatic Legacy

By Stephen Kangal
December 13, 2011

Stephen KangalMinisterial and accredited diplomacy failed to insulate T&T from the embarrassment occasioned by the successful and complicit application of the extra-territorial tentacles upon which the anti- Cuba 1996 Helms Burton Act (HBA) depends for the effectiveness of its punitive global outreach during the recent triennial Caricom-Cuba Summit. It is Cuba that should have apologized to T&T for feeling the impact of the US big stick diplomacy.
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