An act of gross betrayal

By Trevor Sudama
December 07, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Basdeo PandayI was astounded by Panday’s lack of concern for the future of the sugar workers when he was the leader of the Government.

I myself was involved in the struggles of sugar workers in the sixties and early seventies. I was a candidate of the United Labour Front in the 1981 General Election in a sugar growing constituency.
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Big Sister is watching you

By Raffique Shah
December 05, 2010

“Virtually all countries of the world…have secret CIA tracking stations.”
—Intelligence expert and author Alexander Kolpakidi (Daily Mail, November 15, 2010).

Raffique ShahTHE scandal—allegations that US agents spied in (and on) sovereign states, allies like Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Iceland—broke around the same time the SIA mess hit the fan here in Trinidad and Tobago. American agents conducted surveillance activities against “suspected terrorists” on foreign soil. They did not inform the host countries of what they were doing, which included monitoring, photographing and filming people around their embassies and others taking part in protest rallies.
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A Presidential Challenge

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 01, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWhat does the president of a country do when he is asked to break the law? He responds firmly and comes down on the side of the law knowing that political leaders are always more concerned about gaining partisan advantage than respecting the laws they were elected to uphold. The Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago has sent a letter to the President of the Republic demanding that he revokes the appointments of the non-executive directors of the Central Bank before their respective terms expire.
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Separating fact from fiction

By Kevan Gibbs
November 28, 2010 – guardian.co.tt

Patrick ManningIn the past six months, many political know-it-alls claimed former prime minister, Patrick Manning’s silence was part of a master plan. After all, what was becoming an uncomfortable silence from the San Fernando East MP must have been because he fancied himself a comeback kid that would reclaim the leadership of Patrick’s National Movement.
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Indian Time Ah Come

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 23, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA foolish person opined that I was catering (they used the word “kissing up”) to Sat and Kamla because I dedicate Indian Time Ah Come, my most recent book, to Sat, Kamla and the East Indian struggle for justice. He even seemed perturbed that I asked Sat to offer the feature address at the launching of the book and more aggrieved that Sat agreed to do so.
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I spy, with my electronic eye…

By Raffique Shah
November 20, 2010

Raffique ShahAs I write this column, Government is before Parliament presenting the Interception of Communications bill, which it expects to pass in a marathon sitting. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she hoped to get support from the opposition PNM, which I feel certain she will.
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Manning comes out fighting

SpyingSandy Hits ‘Manic Man’
MINISTER of National Security Brigadier John Sandy yesterday tore into former prime minister Patrick Manning as a “manic man” with “a sick mind” for the wiretapping of persons in public life by a secret spy unit that reported to Manning.

Manning comes out fighting (link fixed)
…says ‘spy’ bill will undermine national security
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Setting a Proper Example

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 16, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI did not vote for the People’s National Movement (PNM) during the last national election. Like so many, I became so disenchanted with the positions and attitudes of the former Prime Minister that I could not, in good faith, support the party which I always supported and of which I am a member. I did not vote for the People’s Partnership (PP) either. Theirs was merely a throwing together of disparate elements whose only objective was to remove the PNM. They had no plans for the country, except for a provision of computers for our students and a promised old-age pension of $3,000 which they repudiated the first day they walked into office. They informed an eager population that it really was not a promise: it was a misprint.
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Kamla’s Aid Comments on Target

By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
November 16, 2010

Aid?Within recent times, a plethora of unfounded, misleading and misconstrued remarks/opinions have been levelled at and/or against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s aid comments in the aftermath of hurricane Tomas’ devastation/destruction in some Caricom countries.
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