Business, Finance, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Protest

Financial advice from ‘Layman Brother’

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By Raffique Shah
October 03, 2010

TrinidadiansI HAVE never seen a million dollars in my life. The only time I gaped at big money—was it US$20 million?—was when the then high-flying “Sir” Allen Stanford stormed the hallowed Lord’s cricket ground in London, bearing 20-20 prize money in what appeared to be a huge casket. Most appropriate, in hindsight, since shortly thereafter “Sir Allen” ended up in leg-irons in some US jail that may yet prove to be his final resting place.
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General T&T, Law, Parliament, People's Partnership, Politics

Volney/CJ Conflict: Separation of Powers?

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Justice Minister Herbert Volney and Chief Justice Ivor ArchieTHE EDITOR: The essential issue re: the latest Volney-initiated kuchoor is not about all these pretentious concepts of independence of the judiciary; separation of powers; the judiciary being a “bulwark of democracy” etc.
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Features, General T&T, Media, NJAC, Protest, Race and Identity

My Reflections on the Black Power Conference

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(Oh Yeah, It Actually Had One)

By Corey Gilkes
October 02, 2010

EmancipationFrom the 17th – 19th September the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies was the venue for a conference marking the 40th anniversary of the 1970 Black Power Movement. This conference was preceded on the 16th by a panel discussion at the Lloyd Best Institute of the West Indies.
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Business, Drug Trade, Finance, General T&T, International, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Security

Govt to get OPV $B refund

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Scarborough CG 51 vessel at BAE Systems' shipyard on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland
Scarborough CG 51 vessel at BAE Systems' shipyard
on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland
By Nalinee Seelal
September 30, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday confirmed Government has cancelled a deal with a Scotland-based shipbuilding company BAE Systems for the acquisition of three off-shore patrol vessels, ordered by the then PNM government at a cost of TT$1.5 billion.
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General T&T, Parliament, People's Partnership, Politics, Race and Identity

Jack Warner: H.N.I.C.

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 29, 2010

Jack WarnerIt was one of those incomprehensible statements: “I am the Head N…. In Charge.” That was Jack Warner’s major contribution to the recent Budget Debate. If we use Jack’s logic in a society such as ours, the following corollary suggests itself: if there is a “Head N…In Charge” there must be a “Head C…. In Charge.” It is a philosophical proposition of which this is the logical conclusion.
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Business, Finance, General T&T, Law, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Protest

NOT A PENNY MORE!

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By Michael Harris
September 27, 2010

CLICO BailoutOne of the things which I tried to do as a parent was to inculcate in my son the knowledge that to be an adult meant being prepared to accept responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions. This, after all, is one key thing which separates adulthood from childhood. When you are a child it is assumed that you cannot be held entirely responsible for your actions and your parents or guardians are assumed to accept that responsibility in your stead. When you become an adult the responsibility is all yours.
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Business, Finance, General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics

Pre-Conditions of Value-For-Money Diplomacy

By Stephen Kangal
September 26, 2010

Stephen KangalDuring his sprited Budget response to the opening salvo statement made by the Leader of the Opposition, the Honourable Keith Rowley, Foreign Minister the Hon. Dr. Suruj Rambachan posited emphatically that the Partnership Government has as its pivotal and overriding mission the conduct and achievement of what he termed value-for-money diplomacy (VMD). That new modus operandi /paradigm shift in our traditional foreign policy configuration, if it is to be seriously configured and undertaken, must be commended.
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General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

A house fit for a chief

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By Anika Gumbs-Sandiford
September 26, 2010

Chief Justice Ivor ArchieThe million-dollar sale of the official Chief Justice residence more than a decade ago has come back to haunt the State. The decision has left taxpayers digging deep into their pockets forking out more than $54,000 a month to afford the super-grade housing a Chief Justice is entitled to. So, why was the home of the nation’s third highest office holder sold and not renovated? This is the burning unanswered question on the lips of many. Comprising 44,943 square feet of land (more than one acre) and located in the affluent neighbourhood of St Clair, the sprawling property was auctioned off for a bid of $7,001,000 just three days before Christmas in 1997. Real estate agent and chartered surveyor Afra Raymond valued the opulent property in today’s market at a whopping $31 million.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership

Here today, gone tomorrow

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By Raffique Shah
September 26, 2010

Brigadier Peter Joseph“So, I expect you to tear into (Herbert) Volney’s anatomy in your next column!” many of my readers chorused all of last week. People were itching for me—why me?—to go after the judge-turned-politician, the greatest intervention since, let’s say, mouth-organist Cutty Joseph. Or Hardeo Hardath, a PNM “crapaud” who opened his mouth in Parliament only when he yawned.
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corruption, Crime in T&T, Drug Trade, General T&T, International, Latin America

Chaguaramas named in $830m drug bust off Spain

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By Sampson Nanton
September 24, 2010

CocaineBritish and Spanish police are investigating why 1.5 tonnes of cocaine, worth close to $1 billion, left Chaguaramas earlier this month aboard a yacht headed for Spain. The yacht was traced across the Atlantic Ocean by satellite after it left Trinidad until Spanish Police intercepted it on Monday. The drug haul showed similar signs to one of the biggest drug cases in Ireland two years ago, which also had strong links to T&T. The La Flibuste yacht, a UK-flagged vessel, was moored at Chaguaramas earlier this month before leaving with the cargo of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a false roof of two of the cabins.
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