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

Mewey Cwismas, Trinis

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By Raffique Shah
December 26, 2010

Raffique ShahI WAS reluctant writing this column on the eve of Christmas, knowing it will appear in print on Boxing Day, that it would probably upset some people. Then it occurred to me that a significant number of adults would crawl out of their beds or wherever they may have slept last night, feeling like faecal matter of one kind or other. So, if anything, my thoughts would blend nicely with whatever brand of antacid they pour down their hatches in preparation for another day of overindulgence. Mewey Cwismas, people!
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General T&T, International, USA

Time to reject “Black Friday” concept

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By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
December 22, 2010

1900 Campaign poster for the Republican PartyAccording to long-standing societal acceptable norms, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day in the United States is regarded as “Black Friday.”

Indeed, one would have thought that with the anomalous election of America’s first African-American/Black President that the race-relations gap in this country has narrowed considerably. One would have assumed also that as a result of this presidential first that the need to colour any national event would have been relegated to the ash heap of America’s racial-cultural history.
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General T&T, India, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity, Religion

Standing Firm in Our Nation’s Faith

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 22, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe steeple of St. Mary’s Anglican Church is the first landmark that greets anyone who enters the village of Tacarigua from its western side. Although the present building was constructed in 1901, this architectural splendor has been a part of the village landscape since 1843. On August 22, 1901, the Mirror reported that “the old parish Church of St. Mary’s is now leveled to the ground with the exception of the western wall, which it is believed will form part of the new St. Mary’s.” Directly across the Eastern Main Road is the St. Mary’s Children Home. Its first building was constructed in 1857 to accommodate East Indian children whose parents were lost during the long crossing from India to Trinidad.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Parliament, Politics

Politics of distraction in T&T

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By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
December 19, 2010

ParliamentTo all intent and purposes, a new genre of politics has become the norm in T&T. And this new political modus operandi is the politics of distraction.

For while the country is burning, the murder rate (445 as of this writing) has surpassed Brian Lara’s 400 highest test score and is feverishly and uncontrollable heading to surpass his 500 highest county cricket score also.
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Business, Complaints, General T&T, Law, Politics

A nation of unrealised potential

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By Raffique Shah
December 19, 2010

Raffique Shah“Gobar in de mansions, gobar on de ground

“Gobar in de country, gobar in de town…”

(David Rudder, “The Savagery”, 1998)

SOME people who have the power to effect change and the courage to pursue noble goals with great enthusiasm, often find themselves stumped by the savagery they encounter when they tackle seemingly intractable problems. Trinidadians (more so than Tobagonians) are a strange people. We are mostly warm, friendly, helpful, and sometimes generous to a fault.
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General T&T, Law, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UDeCOTT

Law, order and our leaders

By Dana Seetahal
December 18, 2010 – trinidadexpress.com

Dana SeetahalWhen I heard Mayor Louis Lee Sing’s statement that he was going to ask the Port of Spain Magistrate’s Court to set midnight as the hour that bars must stop selling liquor in St James and Woodbrook I wondered whether he appreciated there was a separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive.
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Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Media, People's Partnership, UNC, USA

ISH, STEVE SEEK BAIL

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By Jada Loutoo
December 18 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve FergusonFORMER United National Congress financiers Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson will spend the weekend in jail and will seek their freedom on Monday when they are expected to petition a High Court judge for bail.
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Business, Entertainment, Law, Politics, Security

Magistrate: Minister to set bar hours

By Anna-Lisa Paul
December 17, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

BarDespite assertions by Port-of-Spain Mayor Louis Lee Sing that bars in his mayoral district will stop selling liquor at midnight, a senior magistrate yesterday said the court’s hands were tied as it pertains to the law governing the granting of liquor licences.

Chairman of the Licensing Committee for the St George and environs district, Senior Magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan said only the respective minister can give effect to restrict hours for the sale of alcohol. The Ministry of Legal Affairs is the ministry under whose purview the granting of bar and liquor licences fall.
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Features, International

Zimbabwe’s Road to Vindication

By Netfa Freeman
December 15, 2010

ZimbabweWhen Zimbabwe initiated fast track land redistribution in 2000 it was big news for corporate media to echo several patented denunciations, characterizing the process as rife with corruption, violence, and inefficiency and doomed to fail.

More than eager to join the fray was the liberal left whose pseudo analysis reiterated the same line accompanied by an imprudent aversion to anything that seemed even remotely favorable to Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party.
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Africa, Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, India, Law, People's Partnership, Politics

Criminalizing the Society

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 15, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI always believe that the demise of the Grenada Revolution occurred because of the hotheadedness of forty-year olds who had little knowledge of the world and people. They knew theory aplenty but were not seasoned by common sense and wisdom that only comes with age. One is seeing a similar tendency in the UNC-led coalition called the People’s Partnership.
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