‘Allyuh come een!’ If you like soca and calypso, Blaxx (Dexter Stewart) has made you happy, jump, wave, sing, laugh, knock a glass, hug a stranger, tap your feet or spread your hands and let go at least once. In an industry with an insane annual refresh rate, quick to …
Read More »Early Bird: Lyricsing in Parliament; how Rodney Charles’ Mia Mottley remark resurrected Explainer
“Have you seen the ad everybody on Facebook seems to be talking about?” “Yuh want to spoil my morning!” Bobby grumbled, making a long face behind his mask. “Too early to be talking about Facebook, bro! And anyway, I’m not on Facebook! “And I want to talk about serious business. …
Read More »Daly Bread: Connecting the dots; was Al-Rawi’s fall linked to Griffith’s?
Owing to pressures on my time, I was unable last Sunday to join in the commentary on the Prime Minister’s confession that he was the high official present at President’s House in August 2021. He was not there to meet the President, as he frequently does, but to meet …
Read More »Noble: The Public Service and norms—the case of the AG versus the CPC
God has a sense of humour. In 2017, Reginald Armour SC defended the Government in a Judicial Review case brought by a public servant seeking to establish the bounds of authority that the Prime Minister had on his ambassadorial posting. By 2019, in the Court of Appeal, he won with …
Read More »Demming: Order in the House! Is Prime Minister Rowley a tone-deaf role model?
“Order!” shouted the Speaker of the House Bridgid Annisette-George. “Order!” “Prime Minister,” the Speaker had already said three times while on her feet. Ignoring her, the Prime Minister continued his rant in response to what seemed to me to be a reasonable question from Naparima MP Rodney Charles. The Speaker …
Read More »Noble: Forget KFC condiments and Cabinet reshuffle, new IMF Report affects our future way of life
This week, the most important business news story was not the $2 that KFC wants to levy for their condiments, nor the shenanigans surrounding the Cabinet reshuffle. The week’s critical story was the release of the IMF 2021 Article IV Consultation Report. To reduce the Report to a sound bite, ‘our …
Read More »Lisa Allen-Agostini: A stitch in time; sew it begins…
When the Pandemic started and the world stopped, like everyone else, I was thrown into a whole new mental space. Unlike everyone else, I did not learn to bake banana bread or grow marijuana. But in mid-2020, I did feel called to learn to sew—buying a basic Brother sewing machine …
Read More »Dear Editor: If PM did not instruct or intimidate PolSC members, how is what he did interference?
“[…] The obligation of the PM was to share the information with the PolSC as soon as possible, and leave it to that institution to deal with the matter on its own “[…] Are our memories so shallow that we have forgotten the attempted coup in 1990?! At the time, …
Read More »Demming: Open letter to Bliss Seepersad on ‘hidden hand of power’ that manipulated CoP Merit List
Dear Bliss, On behalf of the Prime Minister and the people of Trinidad and Tobago, I apologise for any anxiety and pain you have experienced over the past six months because our Prime Minister refused to admit that he was the official who, on 12 August 2021, intervened and diverted …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T’s problem with commissions of inquiry and the value of Dennis Morrison
Ghosts of commissions past have appeared in response to the Prime Minister’s decision to have a commission of inquiry into the deaths of four divers on 25 February, while they were working on one of the pipelines of Paria Fuel Trading Company (Paria). It was a wise decision of the …
Read More »Noble: Defaming Mr Tiah; why Persad-Bissessar’s ‘unwarranted aspersions’ weaken T&T
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is being played out in our tiny country. We are goose-stepping in blind obedience and submission as we embrace a post-truth existence. We have crucified another contributor to our nation. Where do we think this continuing charade will land us? Who will volunteer in the future? …
Read More »Dear Editor: Without deferred 2022 Carnival, T&T risks losing thousands of regular tourist visitors
“[…] The truth is that culture and, moreso, the business of Carnival has lost, both in terms of revenue generation and reputation, over the course of these two missed years. “Our refusal to even so much as consider hosting a festival this year will only be seen as an opportunity …
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