Malaysia are many thousands of miles away but share many similarities with Trinidad and Tobago. They beat us to independent status by five years, adopted the Westminster system of governance and enjoyed key financial growth through industrialisation. They are divided along ethnic lines and as such practice race-based politics. They …
Read More »Colleen Holder: My dad, ‘Mac’, and other media workers never fully recovered after 27 July 1990
“[…] Even though ‘Mac’ and his colleagues were sent for counselling by the company, he never fully recovered. I am sure the same can be said for many of the others…” The following letter to the editor on the personal toll of the attempted coup by the Jamaat Al-Muslimeen on …
Read More »International observers unlikely for 10 August elections, quarantine rules cause stumbling block
Trinidad and Tobago’s General Elections on 10 August is likely to proceed without international electoral observers, after the government revealed that its Covid-19 restrictions proved to be a stumbling block. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said he ‘extended invitations’ on 9 July to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Commonwealth to …
Read More »‘Who should we trust?’ Noble confronts only question that counts for the 2020 Election
The decision as to which party or person to vote for in our General Elections is seldom a single-issue decision. It is folly when our pollsters try to imagine that we vote based on ‘what is the biggest issue confronting us now?’—since many such issues are themselves complex. In the …
Read More »Bally: TUCO execs pocketed TT$1.7 mil in four years; and here’s why it’s wrong
“[…] At the next meeting, I expressed my dissatisfaction with [TUCO president Lutalo ‘Bro Resistance’ Masimba] acquiring this large sum of money and asked what would a sponsor think if, when giving TUCO a million dollars, they were not aware that 20% goes to the president. No answer. “[…] On …
Read More »Daly Bread: Motorcade democracy—Nomination Day Carnival and the Duke of hazard
The Nomination Day exercise for the candidates, who are standing in the General Election on August 10, took place ten days ago with deejay decibels and drumming. Since then, the throwing of political ‘dus in we face’—about which I wrote last week—has continued thicker and sometimes more polluted. The mini, …
Read More »Demming: Election 2020—can’t we do better than this?
The 2020 election campaigns have presented a kind of sameness or familiarity which is uninspiring. I get that their main objective is to energise their respective bases, but as comedian Sprangalang would say ‘allyuh go keel we’. Given these uninspiring attempts to excite the population, I conclude that both major …
Read More »CAL creates flight for US-bound students, interested parties have 28 July deadline
Caribbean Airlines will allow a pathway to the United States for Trinidad and Tobago nationals who are studying abroad and wish to return to school. CAL confirmed today that it is working with the Ministry of National Security to put on a special flight to the Miami International Airport at undisclosed …
Read More »MFO study: Gov’t lauded for re-opening economy; but Covid initiatives not benefitting businesses
The Trinidad and Tobago government came in for high praise for its phased re-opening of the economy while a large percentage of businesses were aware of initiatives meant to cushion the blow of Covid-19, according to a study by Market Facts and Opinion (MFO) published on 17 July 2020. However, …
Read More »Dear editor: Is TTPS really pleased with a 20% solve rate and 1% conviction rate?
“[…] For years, the murder detection/solve rate has been less than 10%. No lie. I have been monitoring this since 2007. Typically, the ‘solve rate’ hovers between 4% to 6%. “This year, 2020, TTPS has risen to heights hitherto unseen, by reaching a whopping 20% solve rate. Of course, that …
Read More »Dear editor: Did TTPS ‘plant’ evidence in Morvant killing? Will there be consequences?
“[…] On the fateful day, the Guard and Emergency Branch not only moved the bodies but also picked up spent shells, wrecked the vehicle and left the scene bare—as if nothing happened there 15 minutes ago. It left the crime scene investigators with almost nothing to work with when they …
Read More »Dear editor: ‘Recalcitrant minority’ is example of phrase abused to suit sinister agenda
“[…] The phrase ‘recalcitrant minority’ is one such case, particularly as it relates to Trinbagonian politics. Often labelled as a discriminatory and hateful phrase by sections of our society, research on the word recalcitrant reveals that the word itself has no sinister connotation. “How then did such a phrase become …
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