corruption, Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics

Leading by Example

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 23, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIndiscipline has its consequences. As a nation we are paying for this indiscipline in every phase of national life up to and including the unprecedented road fatalities on our highways. Yesterday it was the Acting Chief Justice; tomorrow it could be the President or the Prime Minister. If we do not come to our senses we will pay drastically for the indiscipline that plagues our nation. It is a disease that the old are passing on to the young.
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General T&T, Labour, MSJ, People's Partnership, Politics

What now, MSJ? T&T needs to know

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Express Editorial
May 22, 2012 – trinidadexpress.com

MSJ leader David AbdulahTHE “stand Strong” headline theme of the advertising for the People’s Partnership’s anniversary event on Thursday, must attract serious interrogation for its validity. The believability of print ads pushing that theme, appearing on Thursday, was immediately called into question by the leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), a member of the ruling coalition.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Politics

Gone to the dogs

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By Raffique Shah
May 20, 2012

Raffique ShahIT’S frustrating enough to have successive governments bark over the Dangerous Dogs Act for more than a decade without proclaiming it law. But it’s exasperating when, just as the woefully inadequate legislation is about to be given a few defective teeth, we have hordes of human-mongrels whining about the rights of these dumb but downright dangerous animals that savage hapless human beings.
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Africa, General T&T, India, Race and Identity

Indian Arrival Day — Afri-centric Analysis

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By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
May 20, 2012

Dr. Kwame NantambuThe historical truism is that Indian “indentured servants” came from India to Trinidad on 30 May 1845. They did not come from Indo. Ergo, the descendants of these original Indians are Indian-Trinbagonians. They are not Indo-Trinbagonians. This label is totally Euro-centric, ahistorical and must not only be relegated to the ash heap of T&T’s cultural/ethnic history but must also be expunged from T&T’s societal lexicon.
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corruption, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, People's Partnership, Politics

Corrupting Our Morals

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 16, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeCorruption takes various forms. Sometimes it is as deliberate as paying someone to give a view that is favorable to one’s position; sometimes it involves simply stealing another man’s purse through devious means; sometimes it entails padding the payroll so that someone gets more money than he or she worked for. Sometimes it even involves using one’s talent, be it mental or physical, and placing it at the behest of the highest bidder. Sometimes it is as blatant as the acts of Calder Hart or Bernie Madoff.
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General T&T, USA

Obama’s Challenges

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 09, 2012

Barack ObamaNow that Francois Hollande has shattered the consensus around the virtues of austerity, the real question is this: what will American voters do when their turn comes to make a judgment on Barack Obama’s stewardship over the last four years. Too many Americans seem to have forgotten the mess that Obama inherited when he took over from George Bush and the unrelieved opposition he has encountered from a Congress and a Senate who are hell-bent on ensuring he fails. It is almost as though the Republicans want to punish Obama for not recovering the jobs that Bush lost in the first place.
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Finance, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, People's Partnership, Politics

Stealing from the Public Purse

19 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 02, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe news flooded the airways and inundated the newspapers: “Vidwatie Newton, the sister of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, traveled first class when she accompanied the PM on her recent trip to India…The total cost of Newton’s travel to India was $233,600” (Express, April 27).
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Barbados, Caribbean, Grenada, International, Law, Politics

Get it Right Before You Write on TT’s Maritime Boundaries

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By Stephen Kangal
May 01, 2012

Stephen KangalLet me categorically state that the printed media especially since 2004 when the TT/Barbados boundary dispute first erupted and counting, has never gotten it right in reporting about our very specialized maritime boundaries matter. They have done a great disservice to T&T. I cannot identify any single journalist past or present who has taken the time to research and/or to consult responsibly on this matter that the freedom of the press demands of media houses.
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Gender, General T&T, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

The Issue of Colorism

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The Issue of Colorism: Dark-Skinned Girls, Light-Skinned Girls

By Akilah Holder, BA, MA
April 24, 2012 – trinidadexpress.com

Akilah HolderFor the most part of my life, I have had to deal with the drama of being stereotyped from the moment I step into a room because of my light-brown complexion. The animosity directed my way is usually intensified by the length of my hair and my mannerisms. And most of this animosity comes from my own sex, the darker-skinned of my own sex. This animosity seems to be indicative of and to be a result of colorism, defined as a conscious or unconscious state of prejudice that may be experienced by both blacks and whites so that they label as less attractive and intelligent individuals of a darker complexion… Continue…
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Caribbean, General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics

The New Barbarians

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 25, 2012

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeDr. Karl Case, a dear friend and one of the most eminent economists in the United States, has always pointed out to me that part of the greatness of the United States lies in innovative scientific research that takes place at its MITs (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and its California Techs; in its Silicone Valleys and Route 128 in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Case should know. He is one of the founders of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the leading indicator for the US housing market; a member of the Standards and Poors Index Advisory Committee and the Academic Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Board of Boston; the co-author of Principles of Economics that is used in over 300 colleges and universities in the United States. Not only is he knowledgeable but he has proved his mettle in the hard, cold world of United States capitalist market.
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