“What is truth?” retorted Pilate at Jesus’ trial (Luke 18:36). The Greek word for truth is aletheia, which literally means unconcealed and implies sincerity and factuality couched in reality. Mrs Karen Nunez-Tesheira submitted that my column on campaign financing was based on innuendo. Nunez-Tesheira indicated I painted “Johnny O’Halloran, presumably …
Read More »TedX Port of Spain’s challenge: Is free speech an illusion in Trinidad and Tobago?
It is not uncommon for people to hear statements like “but it is a free country,” “I can do what I want” or “I have a right to my opinion.” But, in Trinidad and Tobago, we have a myth of free speech. If we think we can speak truth to …
Read More »Is just a PNM movie: Best look at what politicians are saying but NOT doing
“Life is a stage and we are the actors,” calypsonian Lord Valentino sang in the 1970’s. Three or four decades later, endorsement came from the novelist Earl Lovelace, who declared that (Politics in T&T) “…is just a movie.” “Everybody have a part to play,” Valentino also sings. Including Faris Al-Rawi. …
Read More »The view from pit: Daly muses on hypocritical response to State appointments
Following the recent appointment of former Independent Senator Helen Drayton to chair a state enterprise Board, a strange concept emerged that persons not having blind affiliation to a political party become “tainted” if they serve the country at the behest of a Government. Although responsible opinion has dealt well with …
Read More »I swear! Jabari Fraser looks at Senators Drayton, Mark and Richards
“I, having been elected a member of parliament, do swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago, will uphold the constitution and the law and will conscientiously and impartially discharge responsibilities to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, upon which I am about to enter.” …
Read More »The political appointee label; Daly looks at some controversial picks
The competing arguments concerning the appointment of Mrs Helen Drayton to the Chair of the Board of Directors of a State enterprise—immediately following her completion of service as an Independent Senator—has highlighted once again the issue of appointments in the public sector other than those made to the constitutionally established …
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