The government has called the election for 10 August, plainly in order to have it before the unrest which gripped us last week gets worse and erases the goodwill earned through the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Tuesday last, there was widespread unrest in or near several disadvantaged communities. …
Read More »Demming: Thanks, but no thanks Mr Prime Minister; George St no place for Despers
Desperadoes Steel Orchestra is in no position to refuse the generosity of the prime minister, but the population can. We can tell Dr Keith Rowley that the reasons Despers left the ‘Hill’ are still with us and may even be more deeply entrenched as we count the daily shootings, killings …
Read More »Daly Bread: Facing the music; the problem of accountability in crime and in pan
Last week commenced with the prime minister making more shallow statements about the prevailing rampant murder in response to meek and mild interview questions. In local parlance, the TV interview was sorf. Today I am asserting that facing the music is a common problem for the prime minister regarding rampant …
Read More »Noble: Tackling poverty: the slower (vital) route to shutting down T&T crime factory
With the two shootings in East Port of Spain and the mystery of the San Fernando ‘kidnappings’, the uncertainty of life in our country is writ large. Fear stalks. These circumstances have the potential to paralyse the commercial life of Port of Spain on one hand and to drive deeper …
Read More »TTPS urged to investigate makers of claim that UNC funding crime to destabilise country
“In this video, Samuel Stafford stated: ‘The UNC has a bunch of businessmen…. there are certain high profile businessmen in UNC [trying] to keep the crime rate up and destabilise the country…’ “[…] Given that this is an election year such an offensive statements appear designed to inflame political and racial …
Read More »Daly Bread: 25 years of making excuses: the state repeatedly fails to punish and prevent murder
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley made a chilling, although realistic, admission about murder in our country and its clear and present danger at all times and in every place. The prime minister was commenting on the murder and robbery at a Tobago supermarket in which a security …
Read More »Noble: Slipping into the Abyss; police killings, socio-economic triggers and controversial photo
The ghoulish picture of our police commissioner over the dead body of a murder suspect (Express, 28 December) reminded me of Nietzsche’s aphorism: ‘He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster… if thou gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze into …
Read More »Dear Editor: Gary Griffith receives ‘A’ grade for theatrics and a ‘C’ for performance
“… Because of his effective use of social media, [Gary Griffith] has received soaring popularity with some members of the public. “But is this popularity connected to results he has achieved, or is it based merely on optics? Specifically, has there been a significant decline in homicides or an increase …
Read More »Daly Bread: The acclamation of words; why we don’t need foreign experts to fight crime
As violent crime continues to overwhelm us, I noted last week the prime minister’s apparent adoption of the concept of violence as ‘a public health issue’ and his intention (unnecessarily as we shall see) to seek the assistance of a foreign expert on the subject. The concept has been around …
Read More »Daly Bread: From Bolsonaro to Griffith, are we tackling crime from the wrong end?
Approximately one year ago, shortly after his appointment, Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith likened the criminal elements to ‘cockroaches’ and added that those cockroaches should be ‘crushed’. The Commissioner has company. The following report appeared last week in the UK Guardian newspaper: “Brazil’s far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro, has said he …
Read More »Salaam: What protests can really mean for UWI; why Guild should think beyond compound
It’s five degrees and blustery in Brooklyn this morning and this warm-blooded Trini is cold and freezing. But as I scan the headlines, the temperature is hot and sweltering in St Augustine as UWI students responded to the lack of safety and security on the campus in the wake of …
Read More »Dear Editor: Did Police act lawfully to find Imbert’s phone? And what about other victims of crime?
“Is the prostitution of the police by the political directorate such that the police are only animated to act effectively when a Minister of Government is affected by crime? The country ravaged by criminal activities including brutal killings have not seen similar alacrity by the police to solve these crimes that …
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