General T&T, International, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics

The Charge of the Warner Brigade

8 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
July 10, 2013

Stephen KangalWarner chose the maximum advantage-minimum cost political strategy to enhance and repair his damaged post-FIFA image and to restore the political status quo ante- the Palmiste debacle.

All that he is alleged to have committed and not proven took place outside of the jurisdiction of T&T within the largessse of the FIFA culture of gift-giving. He did not steal from the people of T&T. The four legal opinions have discredited the Simmons Report as being legally and procedurally flawed and therefore worthless.
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Africa, General T&T, Health, International

The lion in winter

2 Comments

By Raffique Shah
July 06, 2013

Raffique ShahFROM A distance, I watch the Grand Old Man slowly making his exit from a world that is far from the perfect place idealists like him had hoped to see in their lifetimes. As The Lion breathes his last, family feuds disrupt the peace he so deserves in his final hours, I wonder why they do not allow him to die the way he lived—fearlessly, with honour. Nelson Mandela, in his 94 years on earth, has contributed to his country and to humankind what others will need several lifetimes to achieve.
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Africa, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Hindu, India, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, Religion

Don’t Blame the Hindus or the Christians

14 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 04, 2013

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeTwo of my dear friends are reputed to have suggested that the Hindus and the Christians may be responsible for the plight of young Africans who find themselves in trouble with the law. They also seem to suggest that a Hindu-based government is to be blamed for out plight. I should hope that this is not what they intended to convey to the public. Such statements tend to inflame national feelings and deepen the national divide. I am a member of the PNM and count myself to be as conscious of my blackness as anyone else. However, I think we ought to be careful about what we say.
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General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC

Voice of reason way superior

6 Comments

By Raffique Shah
June 30, 2013

Raffique ShahAS I watched the political circuses perform in their big tents over the past few weeks, their patrons seemingly satisfied with the acts and acrobatics on offer, my mind turned to the adage, Vox populi, Vox Dei (The voice of the people (is) the voice of God). I sat in my chair and wondered about the wisdom—or folly—of this proverb that scoundrels through the ages have used to invoke divine blessings for their dastardly acts, based solely on the fact that the people supported them.
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General T&T, Labour

Labour pains

5 Comments

By Raffique Shah
June 22, 2013

Raffique ShahI MONITORED this year’s Labour Day celebrations with mixed feelings. I was sorry to have missed the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of organised labour for the fourth year, but that’s another story. I felt a deep sense of nostalgia, a longing for the glory days when we rocked Fyzabad with solidarity that stretched for miles. Now, I see labour-power diminish before my eyes, something I thought would never happen in my lifetime.
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Gender, General T&T, Media, Religion, Sex

CONTROL YUH PROPERTY(?!)

1 Comment

By Corey Gilkes
June 19, 2013 – www.trinicenter.com/Gilkes

VictimThey say the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Regarding Trinis, that will have to be revised to include people who do NOTHING, close their eyes in denial and either expect different results or that the issues will somehow work themselves out – what the late Lloyd Best called “unresponsibility.” On Monday a boy who hadn’t even begun to live yet had his life taken away in a fight reportedly over a girl in the same school. Over the last couple days I listened to several talk shows and was almost lulled to sleep by the usual hand-wringing and cries of “oh how could this have happened,” “lord, wha dis place coming to” yap, yap, yap and all manner of nonsense.
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Africa, General T&T, International, Racism Watch

Mandela: From Prisoner to President

30 Comments

By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
June 17, 2013

Dr. Kwame NantambuAs Nelson Mandela remains “in critical condition” in a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, as a result of “a recurring lung infection” it becomes extremely imperative/vital to trace/recount his remarkable/heroic journey from prisoner/revolutionary to President of South Africa.

At the outset, it must be emphasized that the year 1994 was a watershed turning-point as the white minority-ruled South Africa joined the civilized nations as a de jure actor on the international stage of democracy.

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Complaints, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics

Gordon’s Big Error

12 Comments

By Andre Bagoo
June 16 2013 – newsday.co.tt

GordonTHE ACTIONS of the chairman of the Integrity Commission chairman Ken Gordon in holding a private meeting at his Glencoe home with Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley was a serious error of judgment which has now compromised the Commission as well as the Office of the President, senior political analyst Dr Hamid Ghany said yesterday.

Ghany said the meeting, held on May 15 at the chairman’s resident at Newbury Hill, Glencoe, displayed “poor judgment” on the part of Gordon and now risks disrupting the appointment process which is currently being undertaken by President Anthony Carmona.
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corruption, Finance, General T&T, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics

Yes, Prime Minister, a fiasco

6 Comments

By Winford James
June 12, 2013 – trinidadexpress.com

Dr. Winford jamesNEVER mind Jack Warner’s denial, Prime Minister, it is a fiasco. Warner is focused on the rest of the Cabinet blaming him for it, despite acknowledging, in his usual convenient way, the doctrine of cabinet responsibility, but that is a red herring: it is still a fiasco. You could have said “bacchanal’’, “disaster’’, “catastrophe’’, “debacle’’, “shambles’’, “farce’’, “mess’’, “foul-up’’, or “screw-up’’. Yes, “screw-up’’. Everybody knows your government has been screwing up—monthly, weekly—but I’ll take the Italian word and its conservative figurative meaning: “failure in a performance’’.
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