Complaints, General T&T, Health, Politics

Hospitals of Horror

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By Raffique Shah
March 27, 2011

Raffique ShahIF DOCTORS in the public health care system feel that they are being unfairly targeted by Government and the public, they need to pause, collectively inhale, and look into the mirror. They should also weed out those in their ranks who have given this once noble profession a bad reputation. Indeed, many senior doctors who have long moved on into lucrative private practice must also shoulder some blame for the ills that bedevil the public health sector today.
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General T&T, Politics, Race and Identity, Security

‘Too many Africans in Police Service’

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Race talk hampering Police Service

By Clint Chan Tack
March 26, 2011 – newsday.co.tt

Nizam MohammedTHE ability of the Police Service to win the support of the population in the war against crime in the country is being hampered by the perception of ethnic imbalance within the service.

Police Service Commission (PSC) chairman Nizam Mohammed made this charge as members of the commission met yesterday with the Municipal and Service Commissions joint select committee (JSC) in the Parliament Chamber of the Red House.
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Africa, General T&T, Race and Identity

The Souls of Black Folk

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 24, 2011

Part 1 – Part 2

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Thursday and Friday last week (March 17 and 18) I delivered two lectures at Albany State University, one of the three historically black colleges and universities in the University of Georgia system, in their International Studies Series. Albany, one of the most important sites of the civil rights struggles in the 1960s, is also the birth place of Ray Charles which explains the deep emotions with which he sings “Georgia on My Mind,” Georgia’s state song.
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General T&T, International

Awesome power of nature

By Raffique Shah
March 20, 2011

Raffique ShahI WAS watching a World Cup cricket match on television when I decided to see what was happening in the world. For me, that means switching to BBC, sometimes CNN, but never Fox News. When I saw “breaking news” on the screen, and images that looked like something out of a movie, I paid immediate attention. Massive earthquake in Japan, reporters were saying, as cameras (or video footage) showed huge walls or swirling water smashing everything in their paths. Tsunami!
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Complaints, Health, Media, People's Partnership, Politics, Protest

Doctors, Nurses Suspended – CEO Fired

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5 Doctors Suspended

By Clint Chan Tack
March 15, 2011 – newsday.co.tt

Health CareFIVE DOCTORS and four nurses of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) Department of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) have been suspended, pending a full investigation into the death of Carapichaima housewife Chrystal Boodoo-Ramsoomair at the maternity ward on Carnival Friday, March 4.
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Gender, General T&T, PNM, Politics

Chairman Penny Beckles

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Mrs. Penelope Beckles
Mrs. Penelope Beckles

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 16, 2011

Although I will not be at the PNM’s Party Convention next week, I support Penelope Beckles to be the party’s next chairman because she is best suited for the job. The PNM must throw forth a new group of leaders whom the people can believe in and who can chart a new direction for the country if it wishes to regain the leadership of the society.
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General T&T, International, Politics

Spectre of people’s power

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By Raffique Shah
March 13, 2011

Raffique ShahTHERE’S a spectre stalking the world. It is yet another resurgence of people’s power. Every so often in history, the oppressed, those who face discrimination and subjugation, people whose rights are trampled upon, rise up in a tsunami of discontent. At the cost of some lives, the masses sweep aside monarchies, dictators and even elected governments that have assumed an arrogance that creates a chasm between those who wield power and those who put them in office.
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General T&T, International

Big Quake and Tsunami in Japan

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King of Carnival Wade Madray portrays 'Pacific Tsunami' from Legacy's South Pacific
King of Carnival Wade Madray portrays ‘Pacific Tsunami’ from Legacy’s South Pacific

BIG QUAKE
TOKYO: A ferocious tsunami unleashed by Japan’s biggest recorded 8.9 earthquake slammed into its eastern coast yesterday, killing hundreds of people as it carried away ships, cars and homes, and triggered widespread fires that burned out of control.
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Culture, Entertainment, General T&T, India, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Tourism

Plebian Carnival

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By Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 09, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOh what a difference an election victory makes. For time immemorial we were told by some that the steelband could never be considered as the national instrument—there was always the dholak—and that carnival was not really the national festival. They always sought to convince us that devali was comparable to carnival and emblematic of the national consciousness; hence the need to promote devali in the same way in which carnival is promoted. Somehow carnival was too black.
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