View Point

“[…] For 1950s’ audiences in Trinidad and Tobago, seeing Sidney Poitier on screen in significant roles was a revelation. This was no longer Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen of Gone with the Wind, Stepin’ Fetchit of so many stereotyped portrayals of the black buffoon or the walk-on appearances by black …

The People’s National Movement (PNM) campaigned obsessively in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections  on the issue of the suitability of Watson Duke for office, and lost comprehensively.   Days later, it began trying to discredit the winning party by reference to Duke’s alleged conflicts of interest. The court …

“[…] The pattern here is undeniable: the schools with the highest Excelling to Academic Watch ratio are located in Caroni and Victoria, while the obverse ratio is found in the Port-of-Spain and South Eastern areas. The other six areas have more or less equal ratios of good to bad schools.  …

‘When the lights go on, the cockroaches scatter’, is what popped into my mind when I read about the Ministers of Finance, Health and Trade and Industry, the Attorney General and the Adrian Scoon party boat issue. A special restaurant licence was issued to businessman Scoon without the approval of …

We begin 2022 in the midst of times of intense uncertainty, at least equal to that of wartime but probably bigger because every country in the world is simultaneously a theatre of upheaval. Moreover, the uncertainty is not just a generalised one about the future; it is an uncertainty about …

The problem is not the dragging of the coffin—as loathsome as that may be. The problem is not the use of coarse language and the electrifying of the voter base. The problem is the ongoing corrosion of our society, where boorish folk and screaming bullies are greeted as heroes by …

“[…] The recent ‘danse macabre’ of a coffin being positioned outside the house of my Cabinet colleague, the Honourable Terrance Deyalsingh, on Christmas Day is evidence enough that the Leader of the Opposition is prepared to cross all lines of sanity and sobriety in her quest for political relevance. “Mrs …

The raucous sound of cuatro and maracas spills from a variety store in Arima. A woman in a long wrap skirt stands nearby, hips swaying in time.  Behind her, whistling along, a street vendor measures out bags of the bright red sorrel that will flavour his customers’ Christmas drinks. A …

“[…] Tobagonians are free to apply for HDC housing in Trinidad. However, no Trinidadian can ever apply for housing in Tobago under the THA as constituted, not even if you are of Tobagonian parentage. As a consequence, several Tobagonians are the proud owners of houses in Tobago as well as …

The following is the full text of the brief address delivered by Lisa Allen-Agostini, chief judge for the 11-15 panel in the Write Start National Essay Writing Contest, at the prize-giving ceremony, held at the bMobile box at the Queen’s Park Oval on Thursday 16 December 2021. Also in attendance …

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Faris Al-Rawi has turned to the High Court for an interpretation of the Tobago House of Assembly Act and, specifically, a determination as to whether Watson Duke can legally continue in his dual role of THA deputy chief secretary and Public Service Association …

There was an unexpected touch of royalty at the inaugural Wired868 Write Start national essay writing prize-giving ceremony yesterday evening at the bmobile suite at the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair.  Parvati Girls’ Hindu College student Shara Balkan won the 11-15 category with a fictional story about how her …