Guest Columns

George Washington Carver was born into conditions of slavery but nevertheless became a prominent agricultural scientist and innovator in crop farming. I mention him in the context of our leaders masking reality with excuses.   Carver stated his view in a single sentence: ‘Ninety-nine per cent of failures come from …

In 2001, Enron—named the ‘most innovative company ’ by Fortune magazine for six consecutive years—collapsed.  Enron’s chairman and chief executive officer, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, were two arrogant and belligerent men who believed they were the ‘smartest guys in the room’. They believed that, through their sheer cleverness and …

The last 21 months have drained our nation’s emotional resources and injected paranoid feelings. Uncertainty and risk are now our constant companions.  We no longer have a clear vision of the future. We are exhausted. The constant quarrelling on every front has bewildered us, and we no longer appear to …

In a recent media interview, the interviewee was asked this very direct question: ‘Have you ever accepted a bribe for a firearm?’ Gary Griffith, former commissioner of police, former government minister, former senator, former captain in the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force who is now husband, father and private citizen, …

Emerging from the cocoon of self-isolation into the streets of West Trinidad has been a thing of wonder. Last week a Lamborghini, a million-dollar vehicle, was sighted in the WestMall carpark.  Luxury vehicles of every brand, all less than two years old and costing more than three-quarter million dollars, have …

United National Congress Senator Jearlean John has suggested that new Police Service Commission (PolSC) member Maxine Attong is ‘eminently unqualified’ for the role owing to her criticism of the UNC’s controversial ‘Trinity Triangle’ advertisements  in the build-up to the 2020 General Elections. The first video advertisement depicted a young woman …

My mother got an A in picking cotton and a B in digging yam instead of the Common Entrance Exam. Her grandmother (and primary caregiver) must have thought that that was the better use of her time.  Can’t blame her though; she herself couldn’t write and had a thumbprint on …

“[…] Activist Amanda McIntyre believes that the original portrayals of the Baby Doll were a parody of the plight of single mothers and, generally, women—a stark demonstration of how they frequently bear the blame and responsibility ‘for something that is normal and natural: sex and sexuality’. “[…] McIntyre situated her …

In 1930, The International Digest offered this quote: ‘A banker, it has been said jestingly, is a man who lends you an umbrella when the weather is good and takes it back when it rains. ‘It would be more correct to say that the banker, at the beginning of a …

“[…] Delicate pink or white lace accentuates the dress. Gossamer veils cascade from oversized hats or bonnets tied beneath the chin by a silky ribbon. Supple white gloves, a veil or mask, sheer stockings, and, on the feet, tightly laced Mary Janes—if you own a pair. A doll with rosebud …

Black Stalin’s lyrics in his 1988 calypso ‘We could make it if we try’  have been occupying a space in my brain. He sang: ‘So the Treasury broke and they say that recession jamming/And so to foreign countries Trinis start migrating/ They lose faith in their country, they say we …

Mark Antony’s speech from Julius Caesar is worth recalling at this juncture in our country’s history. It speaks to how honourable men, seduced by the drama of the moment, can wreak great evil upon a nation.   This is the sum of the events of 21 October in our Parliament; …