View Point

I note with some amusement that President Paula-Mae Weekes ‘suddenly discovered’ an error was made in the paperwork leading up to the appointment of Judge Charmaine Pemberton as a member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC). “She explained what the error was: ‘While the relevant instrument of appointment …

We now have belated confirmation—we knew it already—that, in addition to private capital, the source of which might be swanky neighbourhoods, funds for criminal enterprise are also drawn from linkages with public officials and the largesse of Government contracts. These funds are tools used to put or keep competing political …

Little seems to attract public attention like crime news. Crime Watch, in 2014, had a 10 percent larger audience than News at 7pm. Our perceived reality of crime has evolved where there are certain assumptions about crime and justice that are no longer questioned. We conclude with each new atrocity …

Fixin’ T&T: “Any attempt to condition the public to accept Police dressed in military style fatigues as ‘normal’ must be immediately stopped. Militarisation of our Police Service is a giant step towards becoming a military state. “[…] This Commissioner seemingly has nothing but contempt for process and infinitely more dangerous, …

The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago would like to put on record that the duty of all journalists is to report all sides of a story not just selected viewpoints. While the Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, is free to express his opinion on how journalists conduct their duties, …

The Judiciary remains in an unstable state but the Attorney General has stayed in denial and keeps making dangerously short-sighted statements. In its recent decision, the Privy Council expressly reserved its position on whether quorum provisions in legislation outside of the Constitution could save all acts of an improperly constituted …

Works of mas have come into the spotlight recently. In particular, the right to photograph, record or broadcast such works during Carnival. The Trinidad and Tobago Copyright Organisation (TTCO)—the collective management organisation (CMO) that claims responsibility for administering the copyright in ‘works of mas’—has suggested that photography, videography and/or broadcasting …

“Unless and until Tobagonians, at a deep psychological level, understand that they have been colonised by Trinidad for over one hundred years and continue to be so colonised; until they understand, at a deep intellectual level, that the country, Trinidad and Tobago, is a legal and political construct and any …

There is a kind of positive energy associated with Carnival and particularly with the steelband movement. Players survive on less sleep and exhibit discipline and high levels of productivity in order to learn their Panorama tune. This is something we need to understand about Carnival, pan and panyards and their …

The West Indies Cricket Team’s Test series win over England, secured earlier this month, was their first triumph over any team above Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in seven years. The West Indies had not defeated England since 2009 while, to find a similar margin of victory over our former ‘colonial masters’, …

On Friday 15 February 2019, the Elma Francois Institute of Research and Debate (EFIRD) of Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies will present a special panel discussion titled ‘Understanding Venezuela: Caribbean Perspectives on Democracy’. This discussion is the first part of a series that will explore the implications of  the …

An Economist article (2011) defined ‘elites’ as people who shape the world without anyone noticing. The rich and powerful leverage their privileged status to exercise decisive control over the way society is organised and developed. I am thankful that Gregory Aboud has opened this discussion. While he did not define …