Martin Daly

The Delta variant is a rapid-fire version of the Covid-19 virus. It is capable of killing many and killing quickly. There are also a growing number of pediatric cases—children having been spared from the original virus. Two weeks ago the New York Times reported that ‘one in five ICUs (intensive …

Our governance arrangements and political style have left us in an uncomfortable void. Our country is not nearly as well managed as we could make it. We have not employed an enlightened combination of the country’s resources, citizen commitment and fairness. There are not many countries that have achieved satisfactory …

The words of Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet inspire generations of readers all over the world. In the words of an Oxford University lecturer, the book ‘serves various occasions or big moments in one’s life’. I have so far escaped the worst of the deprivations of the pandemic. My pandemic …

Many lives and our economic survival depend on the availability of vaccines in sufficient numbers to vaccinate 70 percent or greater of the adult population. We are re-opening for business before the 70 percent target is achieved and before more is known about the Delta variant, described as ‘relentless’. That …

In the post-vaccination world, borders will re-open to travellers from outside—with the exception of certain countries and subject to specific requirements. In this second summer under the pandemic, we will be restless and chafing against our current border closure regime as large numbers of Caribbean persons want to renew our …

The utterances of the leader of the opposition are regressing further. They descended last week into the disgusting, when she attacked the members of the public health medical team, who regularly appear at the Covid-19 Response media conferences.   She linked them to ‘state-sanctioned murder’ because we have over 600 …

In the parliamentary debate held on Monday last, the boastful confirmation from the minister of transport that the air and sea bridges carried 50,000 persons between Trinidad and Tobago during the Easter week came up again. The prime minister reportedly ‘dismissed as a distortion the opposition leader’s reference to the …

A discerning reader, well experienced in the issue of diversity, responded with appreciation to last week’s column dealing with police profiling of a certain socio-economic class. The message asserted that we should say Akiel Chambers’ name when we say the names of Duante Wright and other fatally-profiled victims currently in …

Daunte (pronounced Dante) Wright, aged 20, is the latest black man to be killed by a white police officer in the United States. The matter that first drew the attention of the police to him was minor. A questionable explanation has been given for the shooting of Daunte. The police …

Stung by the high voter turnout that was able to trump Trump, some Southern states of the USA—under the political control of Republicans—are taking steps to restrict the ease with which voters can vote before Election Day, as well as the use of absentee ballots and drop boxes into which …

Dinah Washington was an artiste at the very top of more than one genre. In one of her classics, she sang: ‘What a difference a day makes/Twenty four little hours/Brought the sun and the flowers/Where there used to be rain…’ Listening to songs pitching hope of rainbows and brightness ahead …

There is Watson Duke and Winston Duke, both Tobago born. Watson is famous in Trinidad and Tobago. As the star of Black Panther, the fame of Winston is international.   While we are thinking entertainment, we cannot forget the much-loved calypsonian the Mighty Duke, the late Kelvin Pope. One might …