As a young boy, I learnt that Buckley’s cough syrup was the cure when your cold turned into a cough that wracked your chest. It tasted awful, but it worked! The makers were making a product that cleared up your congestion and colds. They were not interested in creating a …
Read More »Noble: Youth Lost: an avoidable tragedy writ large, with dire societal consequences
What is teenage life if not fun as we explore new boundaries? You meet new secondary school friends and, with that, you form new relationships, including romantic ones. You try thinking independently for the first time, even as there is a confusing rush of hormones never before experienced. What is …
Read More »Daly Bread: Indifference to killing and distress—without realism, honesty and empathy, “talks” will get us nowhere
Put plainly and simply, it is not possible to maintain the socio-economic status quo and at the same time expect to reduce violent crime. That is one reason why the announcement by the Prime Minister that there will be “talks” on crime is not impressive. This announcement was made in …
Read More »Dr Rowley: “The tide is turning!” PM addresses crime and economy in New Year’s message
“[…] Some people may feel justified in seeing our existence only through the prism of the negative lenses, and believe that runaway criminality is the hallmark and highlight of our efforts. “[…] As a people, we have been resilient, over these recent difficult years. It has been my honour and …
Read More »Dear Editor: How to stop crime: overhaul criminal justice system and beef up death penalty
“[…] We should seek to establish an advisory committee comprising of eminent jurists and law enforcement officials from some [foreign] jurisdictions (possibly a five-member panel) to undertake a comprehensive review of our existing laws and other measures/practices in our criminal justice system. “[…] Accordingly, all crimes related to the illegal importation …
Read More »Dear Editor: Sport and social activities can address Enterprise crime spike
“[…] What we see happening did not erupt over night. This is a result of neglect of the community and the youth by those tasked with the authority to assist, like their local representatives, MP, and the Mayor. “[…] One must understand that involvement in sports and social activities reduces …
Read More »Daly Bread: Trying to find the light in dark days of murder, crime and state neglect
In a powerful editorial last Monday on the occasion of Divali, the Trinidad Express newspaper urged that we look around and see Trinidad and Tobago as it really is: “a country carried by the goodness of its people and their love for this place that we call home”. The writer …
Read More »Daly Bread: “Stay safe”—T&T’s collective vulnerability to violent crime; and the need for national archiving
For the last two weeks I have focused on how successive governments—PNM and UNC, or UNC-led—miserably failed us in providing the equipment and specially trained personnel capable of detecting and interdicting illegal firearms importation through the legal ports. We now have an unqualified acknowledgment from McDonald Jacob, the acting commissioner …
Read More »Noble: Cutting down our youth in their bloom; the murderous Fyzabad four won’t be the last
The killing of the four Fyzabad youths narrated on the soundtrack of the sad stories of their parents is depressing. These young criminals were in their early 20s. But while we scratch our collective heads, we should recall that these are not the first children involved in murders. In 1993, Prisons …
Read More »Daly Bread: Talking scrap; PM and CoP’s discouraging of liming shows govt’s anti-crime failure
As propounded last week and applying the words of the late Oxford legal philosopher, HLA Hart, whom I have frequently quoted, Trinidad and Tobago is now firmly in a situation in which “the laws of the land have legal validity but cease to be effective, leading to a breakdown in …
Read More »Daly Bread: And so it has come to pass; T&T suffering from breakdown in legal control
No, no Mr Jacob, Acting Commissioner of Police, you cannot expect us to be patient and bear with the police in tackling crime. During the 20 years of these weekly columns, violent crime—particularly murder and the impunity with which it is committed—has been a high profile subject. As long ago …
Read More »Daly Bread: Delusions of dispelling dejection through fete and sporting feats
The prominent sold out fetes this June provided precursor vibes of the 2023 Carnival season as fete goers celebrated “we outside again”. The coming season was loudly announced by the Tribe band launch in July, which drew large crowds behind music trucks on Ariapita Avenue. Other promoters remained at event …
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