Enraged by election results that did not go his way, outgoing United States president Donald Trump incited—indirectly or not—thousands of supporters to storm Capitol Hill yesterday to… Well, the aim of yesterday’s remarkable actions remain a bit hazy. Sort of like a dog furiously chasing a car. Even if the …
Read More »Ambassador Mondello: US democracy ‘should not be defined by these moments’
“[…] We know that our democracy has been tested in the past, and it will be tested in the future. Nevertheless, we should not be defined by these moments. “Instead, we should be defined by how we bounce back…” The following press statement on yesterday’s ‘unrest’ at the US Capitol Building, during …
Read More »S Waithe: This is America: eroded values, abused ideals, and ‘white privilege’
Any recovering alcoholic will tell you that the first step is admission of the problem, so attempts can be made to address it. Crucially, they are encouraged to acknowledge that the problem never goes away—they will always remain an alcoholic—but that admission creates the necessary control over said problem. What …
Read More »Caricom’s shame! How Jamaica, Haiti and Bahamas orchestrated ‘unfounded’ attack on T&T over Venezuela migrant crisis
“[…] It’s difficult for me to understand, much less find justification, for why Jamaica, the sitting chair of the OAS Permanent Council at the time, failed to rule on whether to allow Guaidó’s agent to level unfounded charges directly accusing the T&T government of culpability in the Venezuelan tragedy. “[…] …
Read More »MSJ: ‘Hypocritical’ USA and OAS smell end game in Venezuela, respect democratic process!
“[…] We note that the European Union has been totally silent with respect to the voter suppression in the US and the attempts, which have failed so far, by Donald Trump, Michael Pence, Mike Pompeo and other top Republicans to carry out a veritable coup d’etat in the US by …
Read More »Tye: Trump vs Biden: Loud, overt racism vs polite, subtle racism
I remember when Barack Obama won his first term as US president in 2008. Late that night I heard a massive noise of joyful screams and applause from the neighbourhood, the moment his victory was confirmed. At that point, I knew we were in for a rough ride. In the …
Read More »PNM axes Antoine as D’Abadie/O’Meara candidate; Rowley confirms dismissal over USA insult
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced today the People’s National Movement (PNM) has ‘withdrawn’ retired Brigadier General Ancil Antoine as its candidate for the D’Abadie/O’Meara constituency, due to ‘insensitive and objectionable statements’ made at his campaign launch. Antoine was the sitting Member of Parliament for the area, after winning the …
Read More »MSJ: Our Caribbean diaspora suffers from racial injustice in USA; let’s make a stand
“[…] The MSJ is compelled to extend our solidarity to the mass movement in the US, not only because solidarity is one of our core principles, but because there are so many hundreds of thousands—indeed there are millions—of Caribbean nationals and their descendants living and working in the US. “They …
Read More »Dear editor: We should focus on bullying US ‘imperialism’—not Young’s ‘half-truths’
“Politicians, especially national security ministers, sometimes have to tell half-truths and lies—in the country’s or their own interest—and then we sit in judgement of them; we the better men. This is why Socrates did not favour democracy, but instead extolled the virtue of the philosopher, giving value to logic and …
Read More »Dear Editor: Venezuela’s ‘narco-terrorist’ state charge is ‘transparent propaganda’
“[…] If we agree with [US president Donald] Trump that the shipment of cocaine to the US is terrorism—as Opposition leaders implicitly do—then why did a transhipment area like Venezuela become a huge target, requiring the deployment of naval, air, and ground forces to nearby seas. “The consensus among scholars …
Read More »MSJ: ‘Backward and opportunistic!’ Kamla’s UNC is acting like T&T’s ‘fifth column’
“[…] It is the view of the MSJ that the UNC’s position makes them unfit for being the government of Trinidad and Tobago since they will turn us into a semi-client state of the US. We need not state the obvious—we pass the stage when we had a governor, long …
Read More »Media musings: I tweet, therefore I am? Facts, truth and reader education
Lloyd Best used to say that Trinidad and Tobago is a country where people walk about with their heads empty. That may explain why, for so many of us Trinis, facts are sacred things. “Facts are facts,” India’s Jawaharlal Nehru once declared, “and they will not disappear on account of …
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