By Raffique Shah
November 20, 2011
THERE has always been a “disconnect” between what Governments (note plural) say and what they do. The People’s Partnership’s first major policy document since coming to office 18 months ago, the Medium-Term Policy Framework (MTPF), is a comprehensive statement on where Trinidad and Tobago is today, its strengths, weaknesses and potential, and where the Partnership Government wants to take it in three years.
Continue reading Crime Pays
The retaining wall that collapsed was erected by the Government when they acquired land from the Country Club to widen the Maraval Road. The original wall was torn down to facilitate the new construction which was completed in May this year.
Continue reading Wall at Maraval Roundabout Collapses after Showers
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 15, 2011
Sat and Devant riding high on de saddle now and dey driving a hard bargain. Many who voted for the UNC never expected them to thrust Sat and Devant on we with such force, guns ablazing. Even those who refused to vote (and I am culpably in this regard), are feeling uneasy about what is happening in the country. However, I do not think those who voted for UNC and those who abstain should feel badly. They did the correct thing in telling Patrick Manning that he had gone too far and had to be restrained. That is the essence of democracy. Whenever things go out of whack, a countervailing force always steps in to correct the excesses of any party. Silvio Berlusconi who ruled Italy supreme for seventeen years is gone. Muamar Gaddafi ruled Libya for forty two years. He’s gone. As my mamma used to say, “Nothing lasts forever.”
Continue reading Sat and Devant on the Saddle
By Ria Taitt
November 11, 2011 – trinidadexpress.com
People’s National Movement (PNM) MP Patricia McIntosh has slammed the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) for its conduct at the Tunapuna Hindu Primary School in denying equal opportunities to pupils of different denominations, particularly black children who reside within the catchment area.
Continue reading Sat Blocked Black Children
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 09, 2011
Once upon a time, there were two left-wing leading, has-been leaders of the working class movement of Trinidad and Tobago who proclaimed the values of proletarian internationalism and working class solidarity. They also preached the inviolability of people’s civil liberties and the right of people to govern their own affairs. As they explained in their heydays, “Any cook can govern” and those who labor must hold the reins of society.
Continue reading Two Doubles and…
By Raffique Shah
November 06, 2011
TRINIDAD and Tobago’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Rodney Charles, took two rather curious positions over the past week. On October 31, the UNESCO’s General Conference voted on a motion to admit Palestine to that organisation. Mr Charles abstained. Then last Thursday, Mr Charles was one of only three ambassadors who accepted invitations to have lunch with Marine Le Pen, French presidential candidate and leader of the extreme right-wing party, the National Front.
Continue reading Diplomatic Blunders
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 02, 2011
Speak to any non-Indian in Trinidad and Tobago and one is asked the same question: What dese Indians want? It may be an unfair question, a paranoid response, or just the reflection of feelings of anxiety. Yet, there lingers in the minds of many non-Indians that there can be no pleasing Indians in Trinidad and Tobago. Do they yearn for equality or do they seek dominance?
Continue reading Hindu Ethics and Morality
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 25, 2011
It’s either I am crazy or the Prime Minister is going mad. She stands up in Parliament and maligns her citizens. When she is confronted she refuses to accept responsibilities for her actions. Defenseless citizens are left at her mercy. Then, the press either defends them or maligns them further. In a good season, the press may then point out that a mistake has been made and call upon the authorities to rectify it.
Continue reading Bacchanalian Budget Debate
By Sean Douglas
October 23, 2011 – newsday.co.tt
MINISTER of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Senator Verna St Rose-Greaves, on Friday hinted at an end to the marriage of underage girls as now allowed by law for certain religious groups.
While the age of sexual consent is 16 years old, St Rose-Greaves said that girls are allowed to marry at age 12 or 14 years old, in allusion to special allowances made for Hindu and Muslim marriages.
Continue reading Verna wants end to under-age marriage
Following is Joan Yuille-Williams’ full statement:
As the former minister of community development, culture and gender affairs with the responsibility for the Financial Assistance Fund which is now the subject of salacious, misguided and uninformed comment, I wish to state the following fundamental facts for the general public’s information, even as I pursue my option for robust legal action to assert the truth unequivocally:
Continue reading Joan Yuille-Williams on Scholarship Fund
