By Raffique Shah
October 31, 2026

It doesn’t take much convincing these days to realise that if ever the world was under threat from brain-eating amoebae/bacteria, just let them loose at a gathering for world leaders, and just like that the microscopic buggers would starve to death and the crisis would be averted. A few good men and women would be sacrificed for the greater evil.

Listening to the news daily, both local and foreign, no longer elicits shocked responses, gasps or any real emotions, even when it involves homicide. We have become so desensitised to the actions of our fellow men that we no longer feel involved. Gone are the days of media sensationalism, because there is no headline they can put out there anymore that will shock an already deeply disturbed nation.
Continue reading Heights of stupidity →

By Raffique Shah
October 24, 2026

We in Trinidad and Tobago cannot claim, as most small island states do, to know little or nothing of bloody revolution. True, the experiences we had may not have been bloody by international or European standards. When changes in power occur, they tend to be moderate.

Our elections are usually peaceful, with a little picong passing from one politician to the next. Even our revolutions were mild when compared with other parts of the world. But what makes it mild or moderate or bad?—the carnage, the destruction of property, the rank lawlessness, or…something else?
Continue reading Shame on you →

By Raffique Shah
October 17, 2026

Had the Mighty Sparrow been present for the reading of last Monday’s “Awesome Budget”, I feel he might have said, or rather sung the following:

But yuh pipe ain’t have no water, you pay too much for butter.

(Take yuh steel beam and go!)

The terrible school system is such a bloody problem

(Take yuh steel beam and go!)
Continue reading The Birdie and the budget →