All posts by News

Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics

Court rules both Griffith, Jacob appointments illegal

2 Comments

By Jada Loutoo
October 15, 2021 – newsday.co.tt

Gary GriffithAS of midnight, the country will, for the first time since Independence, be without a commissioner of police at the helm of the police service.

This is because the acting appointment of deputy Commissioner McDonald Jacob comes to an end on Friday, and the acting appointment of former commissioner Gary Griffith by the Police Service Commission (PSC) from August 18 was deemed unlawful hours before.
Continue reading Court rules both Griffith, Jacob appointments illegal →

Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics, Recession, UNC

We Ent Wukking Anyhow

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 11, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeKaren Tesheira, in an insightful presentation on the budget 2022 statement, said, “A budget is far more than a number of figures cobbled together. It speaks to the government priorities, its values, its vision and its imperatives—in other words, its strategic plan for its citizenry.”

She titled her remarks “Government for the Rich and Powerful”, and reminded us of one of the main conclusions in the European Bank’s “Economic Inclusion Strategy [EIS]” (2017–2021): “The opening up of economic opportunities to previously under-served social groups is integral to achieving a transition towards sustainable market economies.” (Express, October 6)
Continue reading We Ent Wukking Anyhow →

Crime in T&T, General T&T, Health, Politics

Dr Rowley’s war fatigue

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By Raffique Shah
October 11, 2021

Raffique ShahWhen generations ahead of us evolve many years hence, and scientists in their labs or students in their classrooms look back at us, at the problems we faced and how we addressed them, I fear they won’t be charitable in their evaluations of their ancestors of Trinidad and Tobago. I can see them spending long hours in laboratories analyzing fossilized brains and associated DNA particles and still being stumped by our quantum leaps in science, but simultaneously, and incomprehensibly, we could not solve simple problems such as stimulating productivity among a few million people, or use pre-school-level math to track and capture a few thousand thieves who robbed us blindly, siphoning large sums of public money and stashing it in their private acquisitions or bank accounts, and escape prosecution and punishment in their lifetimes, as well as their heirs and successors’ who enjoyed opulence while the salt of the earth and their wretched offspring sucked salt, quite literally.
Continue reading Dr Rowley’s war fatigue →

COVID-19, General T&T, Health

Why I am unvaccinated

13 Comments

By Kevin Baldeosingh
October 06, 2021

Kevin BaldeosinghI am not vaccinated against Covid-19 and do not intend to take any of the existing vaccines. Here are my reasons.

Medical: I am under 70 years of age, have no co-morbidities, am not obese, and can run one mile in under nine minutes. This puts me in a cohort that Covid does not seriously affect. Thus, the vaccine does not benefit me.
Continue reading Why I am unvaccinated →

corruption, General T&T, Opposition Party, PNM, Politics

Eroding Public Confidence in Our Institutions

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 04, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI was trying my best to stay out of de commess until someone sent me a Facebook post that read: “That’s Faris’s Porsche that Roger has been driving around over the past two years.” The post also showed a photograph of the SUV number plate attached as well as a “Title of Certification.” Quickly thereafter the Express reported: “There have been suggestions of a link between Al-Rawi, [Roger] Kawalsingh, and Gary Griffith and on investigation that this alleged link has compromised the work of PolSC [Police Service Commission].”
Continue reading Eroding Public Confidence in Our Institutions →

COVID-19, Finance, General T&T, Health, Politics, Property Tax, Recession

The Only Solution

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By Raffique Shah
October 04, 2021

Raffique ShahI am writing this column before Finance Minister Colm Imbert delivers his Budget speech and announces measures that government intends to employ to finance its operations over the 2021-2022 fiscal year. What I write here is not new. Other commentators, economists, politicians and informed citizens will have said or written scholarly critiques of the economy, offloaded tonnes of advice and mountains of metrics on the minister.
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Finance, General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics, Property Tax, Recession

Criminalizing Civil Infractions

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 27, 2021

“All advanced legal systems condemn as criminal the sorts of conduct described in the Anglo-American law as treason, murder, aggravated assault, thievery, robbery, burglary, and rape.”

—Encyclopedia Britannica

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI always wonder why an inefficient government demands that its citizens be efficient when it represents the epitome of inefficiency. Recently, the government put out its regulations regarding its intention to collect “Property Tax” which requires “that every person in possession of residential land, commercial land, agricultural land or a combination of any of the above (mixed use) in Trinidad and Tobago furnish a return containing the particulars…on or before 30th November 2021.” Failure to comply with the requirement constitutes “a criminal offence which is punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000).”
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General T&T, Protest, Racism Watch, Sports

Giant leap by a Black man

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By Raffique Shah
September 27, 2021

Raffique ShahLast Sunday, dealing with the potential I saw in many of the young players who competed in the recently-concluded CPL T-20 cricket tournament, I introduced the issue of race in sports as highlighted by several Black American athletes who used the stage of the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 to confront racism head-on. I cited the iconic photograph of sprinters and 200-metres medallists Tommie Smith, who won the event in a new world record of 19.83 seconds, Australian Peter Norman who was second in 20.00, and John Carlos, who was third, also in 20.00. The fourth finisher was Trinidad & Tobago’s Edwin Roberts, who clocked 20.30.
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General T&T, PNM, Politics

Decentering Dr Williams: debasing the PNM

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 20, 2021

PART III

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn January 29, 2011, I delivered a lecture on the pitfalls of multiculturalism, at a Multiculturalism Conference at Gaston Court, Chaguanas. It was sponsored by GOPIO (T&T), the leading purveyor of Indian culture, when then-PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar introduced her cultural policy to engender greater equity within the society.
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General T&T, Sports

Healing through sports

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By Raffique Shah
September 20, 2021

Raffique ShahI was hooked to the Caribbean Premier League cricket tournament over the past two weeks, from the opening match between the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Guyana Amazon Warriors to the thriller-of-a-final in Warner Park between the host’s St Kitts-Nevis Patriots and the St Lucia Kings, that went down to a last ball decider. As is normal for me when I feast on sports, I look beyond the participants and their performances. In CPL cricket, I find not just entertainment and scintillating skills, but more importantly, from my perspective, a panorama of Caribbean life that can teach Caribbean societies lessons in race relations and class compression.
Continue reading Healing through sports →