The Arima North Secondary school dedicated its annual 5K walkathon to violence and bullying. Principal Karena Ramdeen-Steele said that there were 167 participants to the event, which was held on Friday 12 February 2016 under the banner of: “Stamp out School Violence and Bullying.” Ramdeen-Steele claimed too that her school’s …
Read More »Say what I95.5?! Women respond to “feminist” attacks after Tim Kee scandal
The following open letter is directed to Ralph Maraj and Darian Marcelle for alleged comments made towards women activists and feminists during “The Afternoon Drive” on I95.5 FM. This letter was sent by: Jacquie Burgess, Merle Hodge, Dr Sheila Rampersad, Attillah Springer, Eintou Springer, Folade Mutota and Verna St Rose …
Read More »Tim Kee’s final walk; POS Corporation would have picked Mayor over party
In the end, Raymond Tim Kee—buffeted on all sides—chose to jump, as he resigned his post as Port of Spain mayor. However, according to a well-placed source, he was unlikely to be pushed. Even as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and PNM chairman Franklin Khan called on Tim Kee to …
Read More »Of sensuality and vulgarity: why Tim Kee is foolish but not misogynistic
I wonder if the wide spectrum of persons who have used the words “misogyny” and “misogynic” to describe ex-Port of Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee following his asinine statements on the murder of pannist Asami Nagakiya either believe what they are saying, or understand the definitions of the words? According …
Read More »Reaching across the divide: examining a culture of violence to women
Another woman is killed. Flung to the top of a mountain of murdered women so high her gold bikini lights up the sky. Broken body upon broken body, raining red waterfalls upon us. Down the streets, across the land, inside our homes and into our lives. Violence unrelenting, pain unrelieved, …
Read More »Divided masquerade: Trinidad Carnival is increasingly a “minority sport”
Two of my previous reviews of Carnival unequivocally set out issues within the festival that are troubling, particularly if Government is to continue funding the festival at the significant levels that it does. Last year’s review The minority sport of Carnival, referred to “the obvious acceleration of Carnival’s decline into …
Read More »Tim Kee: I won’t be crucified; beleaguered POS Mayor may fight for his job
Port of Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee has apparently vowed not to allow himself to be crucified in a statement posted on the Facebook page of his wife, Natasha Babwah. Tim Kee, who is also the PNM treasurer and the former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president, promised to …
Read More »Carnival in transition: Raffique explains why the festival is not dying
I don’t think Trinidad’s Carnival is dying, as many people say it is. For the traditionalists, it’s a case of wishful thinking. They want to see the jarring noise that passes for music—songs that have no melody, only hook lines and tempo—consigned to the dustbin of Carnival history. And they …
Read More »Devon Seale is crowned Calypso Monarch; holds off Chuck and young Helon
Devon Seale is Trinidad and Tobago’s new Calypso Monarch after he beat a strong field with “Respect God’s Voice” and the “Spirit of Carnival” at the Dimanche Gras show in the Queen’s Park Savannah last night. “Respect God’s Voice” was a feisty rebuke for former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who …
Read More »Sunity: Why Prestige Holdings should change tack for our economy’s sake
Nobody has probably delved deeper into our forbidden desires for salt and fats than the people who run Prestige Holdings. Certainly, nobody has been more greatly rewarded for understanding what tickles our hunger hormones and sends them hunting for salt soaked in oil, slathered over chicken, seasoned in dough and …
Read More »Living the Carnival principle: Sunity finds wonder in mas
Just as the heart was groaning under the weight of yet another foreign franchise coming to serve us coffee, in floats Ras Nijinsky to turn the imperial order upside down before sending it forth, unrecognisable to itself in ras and drag. This Minshall Ras Mas is, indeed, a high mas, …
Read More »Is murder a lifestyle choice? Daly ponders how to reclaim the streets of T&T
Port of Spain suffers from personality disorder, for a long time now, and so does many of its environs. This disorder, sometimes described as split or multiple personality disorder, is defined by Psychology Today as “a condition wherein a person’s identity is fragmented into two or more distinct personalities.” Each …
Read More »