May 09, 2010
Contrary to what over-exuberant party fanatics trumpet during and after mass meetings, crowd-attendance at most of these seasonal gatherings has been disappointing. At Couva last Thursday, for example, I arrived at the People’s Partnership (PP) in time to hear Rudy Moonilal (I believe) and Jack Warner refer to the ‘8,000 people gathered here tonight’. If there were 3,000 persons, the PP could count itself lucky.
Continue reading Crime fighting out of focus
EDITOR: I am not affiliated to any political party in Trinidad and Tobago. However, after reading some of the blogs I felt compelled to respond to one in particular. Since space is at a minimum, I am forced to discuss parts, not all, of the article entitled “Tragedy of election errors.”
Raffique Shah, in his article, quoted the Law Association president, Martin Daly, who stated that “the swift descent of a sitting judge into the arena of competitive politics inevitably raises a concern in people’s minds about the judiciary harbouring persons with political ambition.”
Continue reading Response to Raffique’s “Election Errors”
By Raffique Shah
May 02, 2010
HAROLD Wilson, Prime Minister of Britain (1964-76), is credited with the adage, ‘A week is a long time in politics.’ In Trinidad and Tobago, it seems that a day in elections campaigning can trigger changes that would eternally haunt one contestant or other. I had planned to write about platform promises by both major parties, whether or not they are empty rhetoric or offer practical solutions to the myriad problems that face the citizenry. In other words, they can talk and promise, but can they deliver?
Continue reading Tragedy of election errors
By Raffique Shah
April 25, 2010
‘DID you hear the Prime Minister lashing out at you on the PNM platform last night?’ It was the kind of telephone calls and greetings I received repeatedly over the past week. I informed my ‘informants’ that I did hear Mr Manning mention my name, among others, as he attempted to give PNM supporters ‘History lessons’. As a columnist who writes on political issues, I need to stay tuned to the ranting on the hustings if I am to write informed comments.
Continue reading History lessons for Manning
By Raffique Shah
April 18, 2010
I DON’T know if the two main opposition parties in Trinidad, Tobago’s TOP, and the trade unions and NGOs, will forge an alliance that is attractive to the electorate. As I write this column, top officials from the United National Congress (UNC) and the Congress of the People (COP) have held several meetings.
Continue reading Unity essential – but no guarantees
By Raffique Shah
April 11, 2010
FIRST, let’s cut the bull over Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s reasons for calling a mid-term general election. The United National Congress (UNC) motion of no-confidence in the PM, which he cited as one reason, was doomed to fail-unless he feared his own members voting against him. There was no cause for concern or unpleasant surprises.
Continue reading Manning’s election gambit
By Raffique Shah
April 04, 2010
THE past two weekends were rather unusual ones. Easter weekend started off last Thursday with Holy Thursday, which was also April Fools’ Day. On Good Friday, while practising Christians solemnly commemorated Christ’s crucifixion, many citizens were beating up on ‘bobolees’.
Continue reading Can they count?
By Raffique Shah
March 28, 2010
Lest I am accused of consorting with the ‘drugs mafia’, or worse, being a drug lord posturing as a journalist, I need to be very careful how I couch my words in this column. With Prime Minister Manning on the warpath against enemies more imagined than real, the last I want is police swooping down on me, looking for ‘crack’ cocaine.
Continue reading Mad Man-ning on the rampage
By Raffique Shah
March 21, 2010
A seething rage has gripped this country in a manner we have never before seen. It’s frightening. Ever since I was a boy, I learned that the vast majority of our people have what I can only describe as a delightful sense of humour. But for a few ‘sourpusses’, we laugh at everything-from ourselves to pranks people play on us to remarks made by others that we find hilarious. For all our shortcomings, our weaknesses, Trinidadians and Tobagonians are generally a fun people.
Continue reading Geezers’ promoting rage and war
By Raffique Shah
March 14, 2010
IF I were Prime Minister Patrick Manning, I would fire my ‘spiritual adviser’ forthwith. I would instead hire a futuristic, 2020 model ‘secular consultant’, someone like, say, Raffique Shah. Before the howling starts, with every Tom, Dick and Harrilal shouting, ‘Shah looking for PNM wuk!’ or ‘We always knew Shah was PNM!’, let me explain why I offer the PM this advice.
Continue reading Hart-aches by the numbers