Our Prime Minister Keith Rowley made a splendid speech on the occasion of the state funeral of former Prime Minister, Patrick Manning. Dr Rowley kept it light and anecdotal, with reminders that he was his own man in the course of his rocky relationship with his deceased former “chief”. In …
Read More »The Real Patos in the Fake Pathos: BC Pires remembers Patrick Manning
Rather than join the hordes jockeying for advanced position in Trinity Cathedral at his state funeral by rewriting the late Patrick Manning as the Stepfather of the Nation, and not the man who built a palace for himself with taxpayers’ money – and started work on a church likewise – …
Read More »Mixing God with Mammon: The problem with Gov’t funding for religious festivals
The bickering among Islamic organisations over the allocation and distribution of Government funding for the recent Eid celebrations underscores a point I’ve made ever since this nonsense started a few years ago: Government ought never to dispense public funds for religious festivals. A few weeks before Eid, in the midst …
Read More »Organised disappointment: Daly considers Caribbean lessons from Brexit
I arrived in London 30 hours after the Brexit referendum decided that Britain would set out to leave the European Union. Two days later, a second Brexit occurred when Iceland tossed England out of the European Football Championship. There has been copious handwringing over both results. Space constraints inhibit me …
Read More »An accidental leader: Raffique Shah considers the legacy of late ex-PM Patrick Manning
The end, when it came, brought relief from some five years of suffering, and pre-empted additional torture from treatment for cancer, which many have described as being worse than the disease itself. Patrick Manning’s sister, Petronella, who is a medical doctor, said as much in her grief-stricken state. And his …
Read More »The high price of our silence: Nakhid explains why corruption survives in T&T
Former national footballer and would-be FIFA president David Nakhid reflects on the current state of the political ballgame: “Why do you have to speak for these African players?” Patrick Edwards, a career diplomat attached to the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in London, asked me when he came to Lebanon …
Read More »Manning moves on; Former PM surrounded by loved ones in final moments
Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister and ex-San Fernando East MP Patrick Manning passed away at 8:15am today at the San Fernando General Hospital, after battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Manning was 69 and, according to his wife Hazel Manning, was being prepared to undergo treatment. A statement from Manning’s family …
Read More »Referendum rooted in fear; why Brexit won’t solve British working class problems
The referendum was never about Britain getting a raw deal in the European Union and wanting out so that it can prosper on its own. It wasn’t even about voting to stop the hordes of barbarian refugees at the gates of the castle, given its natural moats, the Channel, the …
Read More »Bailing out: How lapsing bills and political bickering have T&T living in jail
It is generally known, but only reluctantly acknowledged, that our institutions are failing us. The reasons why this failure is not the subject of broad based civic and political action have been set out in my columns many times. Currently the Parliament has contributed to a massive national security failure. …
Read More »Old England vs the world: UWI looks at Caribbean implications of Brexit
“Every aspect of Caribbean life will be adversely affected by this development; from trade relations to immigration, tourism to financial relations, and cultural engagements to foreign policy. There will be a significant redefinition and reshaping of Caricom-UK engagements. “The region’s fragile economic recovery is threatened.” The University of the West …
Read More »And Justice for Some? In Defence of the Trinidad and Tobago’s Industrial Court
The Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago is a superior court of record, which gives it a status equivalent to that of the High Court of Justice. It is also a specialized court with its own peculiar jurisdiction and is responsible for the dispensation of social justice. The principal role of …
Read More »Butler and Rienzi: Raffique Shah looks at their role in T&T’s Labour movement
Within recent years, annual Labour Day celebrations trigger accusations that the trade unions that mark the occasion with marches and speeches at Fyzabad pay homage only to Tubal Uriah Butler, never Adrian Cola Rienzi. Such sentiments imply that Rienzi, whose original name was Krishna Deonarine, is ignored by labour because …
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