General T&T, Haiti, International, USA

Why The US Owes Haiti Billions – The Briefest History

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By Bill Quigley
November 27, 2013 – ccrjustice.org

HaitiWhy does the US owe Haiti Billions? Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, stated his foreign policy view as the “Pottery Barn rule.” That is – “if you break it, you own it.”

The US has worked to break Haiti for over 200 years. We owe Haiti. Not charity. We owe Haiti as a matter of justice. Reparations. And not the $100 million promised by President Obama either – that is Powerball money. The US owes Haiti Billions – with a big B.
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Carnival, General T&T, PNM, Politics

Funding culture vultures

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By Raffique Shah
January 11, 2018

Raffique ShahThe Government missed a good opportunity to impress upon the population the gravity of the country’s economic circumstances, and consequently the dire need for all segments of society to make sacrifices on the expenditure side of the equation, when it capitulated by doling out millions of taxpayers’ dollars to fund private promoters whose sole interest in Carnival is to profit off it.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Religion

Crime and The Church

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 10, 2018

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast Sunday I attended religious services at the St. Mary’s Anglican Church where my people have worshiped since it was constructed in 1843. The prayer of the day was the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It read: “Father pour out Your spirit upon us and grant us a new vision of Your glory, a new experience of Your power, a new faithfulness to Your Word and a new consecration to Your service that Your love may grow among us and Your kingdom come, through Christ our Lord.”
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Health, Oil and Gas, PNM, Politics, Recession, Tobago

The Prime Minister’s full address to the nation

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Dr Keith RowleyFellow citizens, as we settle into our various routines, wherever and whatever that might be, I trust that we all had a joyous Christmas Season, shared with family, friends and community spirit.

As we reflect on the arrival of 2018 and all that it holds for us, let us spare a thought or a prayer for those individuals and families who have been victims of violent crime from one direction or another. Their pain is our pain and even as the New Year has opened with reports of the continued murderous scourge on our land I want to appeal to all citizens to keep hope alive in this war against the heartless family members and career violent criminals.
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Entertainment, General T&T, Music

Interlude with Rudder and Tanker

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By Raffique Shah
January 02, 2018

Raffique ShahSerendipity often steals upon you in strange ways. I was about to shut down my computer last Wednesday night when, in my e-mail inbox, I saw a post by Lasana Liburd alerting me to a video interview he had conducted with David Rudder. I respect Liburd for maintaining high standards on his Wired868 blog, and for me, Rudder is a peerless trailblazer who attempted to usher in a new era in calypso music in 1986.
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General T&T, International, Israel, Palestine, Politics, USA

Foreign Policy Blunder

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 02, 2018

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOnce I read our government had abstained on the United Nation’s resolution to condemn the United States decision to anoint Jerusalem as Israel’s capital I raced to the Tunapuna cemetery to reacquaint myself with the words on C. L. R. James’s gravestone, which read: “Time would pass, old empires would fall and new ones take their place, the relations of countries and the relations of classes had to change, before I discovered that it is not quality of goods and utility which matter, but movement; not where you are or what you have, but where you have come from, where you are going and the rate at which you are getting there” (Beyond a Boundary).
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Murder, Violence

This Week in Crime 02/01/2018

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Mom found strangled
A CHASE Village mother of two is the first woman killed this year. The body of Arisa David, 25, was found dead in her home at Limehead Road. Police believe she was strangled.

5 murders usher in new year*
Trinidad and Tobago recorded its first killing at 12.15 a.m. The murder toll for 2018 now stands at five compared to one murder committed on New Year’s Day 2017
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General T&T

Reading for pleasure and knowledge

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By Raffique Shah
December 31, 2017

Raffique ShahA few weeks ago, my granddaughter, who is all of seven years old, said to me with a look of triumph on her face, “Granddad, I finished reading my new book,” adding with emphasis, “…eleven chapters in four days!” “Very good,” I commended her as she proffered a copy of the children’s version of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice through the Looking Glass”.
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General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC

Big Dawgs and Ass-Kicking Time

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 31, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA democracy was always meant to be a big boisterous place where all citizens come together to share their ideas about what constitutes the ideal state. In recent time radio talk shows and social media are serving that role-the exchange of ideas-but such avenues are not necessarily the most efficacious ways of soliciting/eliciting citizens’ views.

How we behave in society and the courtesies we extend to others are also important for building social cohesion. A country expects its leaders to lead exemplary lives and conduct themselves in ways that are worthy of emulation. In our society, things have been slipping for a while. We need to see where we have gone wrong.
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