I do not write for everyone. As a matter of fact, I am well aware that I cannot. I am committed to confronting every aspect of who we are, even the ugliness which we pretend we can ignore. Our general acceptance of the notion of subordinate cultural groups and communities—even …
Read More »Live Wire chronicles: Duke overboard, Roget’s one percent maths, and Tinisha’s 4:44 cover tune
Has the Sister Isle not suffered enough? Already feeling the brunt of the ongoing ferry fiasco, nervous about the Sandals hotel chain’s impending arrival and cursed by ex-THA assembly man Hilton Sandy’s bizarre love-life—or “The Love Boat: Calcutta edition”—Tobagonians are now bracing for an anticipated spike in sea pollution within …
Read More »Master’s Voice: Police modelling and model policing; why we need back the Union Jack
Right. Everybody who is NOT a millennial––and you of the Independence Generation in particular––I have one polite, humble request. Before 31 August, anywhere you pass and see the Red, White and Black flying, please, PLEASE stop, pull it down and hoist the Union Jack back up for me. Please. Seriously, …
Read More »“Rude Cop” strikes back! Live Wire roasts Express over “lewd” front page
The following is the legally satirical response to the Trinidad Express front page on 7 August 2017, which showed a fully clothed police woman on a couch with her leg raised, under the heading “Rude Cop”: Dear Trinidad Express, I act on behalf of my client, Ms Flexi-Cop—otherwise derogatorily referred to …
Read More »Is TTPS “extorting” public with exaggerated figures at events?! Ex-MoNS blows whistle
“Nowhere in the world, in any business, [does] the provider of a service demand how [many officials] should be hired and the host cannot verify if the officials he hired even arrived. “The host also cannot advise the provider of what they should be doing [at the venue] as the …
Read More »Daly Bread: When ridiculous becomes normal; CoP’s ‘nonsensical’ statements on arrest
In the face of rampant violent crime, last week’s column asserted that it is wholly insufficient to believe, as the Government does, that we could merely rely on the Police Service as currently managed. On that same day, there was a forceful editorial in the Sunday Express newspaper which I …
Read More »STREET VIBES: Fuad, we Khan take no more! T&T sick of doctors’ irresponsible behaviour
To say that the level of irresponsibility in this nation is lamentable is an understatement; we could accurately use much stronger language. But the discovery of a foetus in the refrigerator of a doctor’s office in South gave us a clear demonstration of precisely how pathetic and irresponsible some people …
Read More »Was Top Cop right to scoff at low detection rates? A criminologist makes arresting case
“The theories of legitimacy and procedural justice offer the best explanation. In countries where the State and its institutions are deemed legitimate and fair, increases in arrests and detentions tend to produce the expected deterrent effect. “However, in other jurisdictions, when the State and the exercise of State power are …
Read More »STREET VIBES: TTPS BS! Day of total policing disrespect
Many people who frequent the social media, in particular Facebook, would by now have seen the pictures of a person dressed in a uniform which closely resembles that worn by members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). He was entering a vehicle which appears to be one from …
Read More »STREET VIBES: The sacred and the profane: if the priest could pay… will politicians now tackle crime?
I claim no special credit for having in the past made the point about Trinidad and Tobago being the Land of the Limbo so that we should not be surprised that our criminals are apparently hell-bent on seeing just how low they can go. The newest low, according to the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Does T&T practice selective law enforcement? And what are the ramifications?
“The disproportionate prosecution of working class criminals ultimately serves to maintain ruling-class power and to reinforce ruling class ideology—thus performing ‘ideological functions’ for the ruling class.” Orson Rogers considers potential flaws in the way that Trinidad and Tobago deals with crime: As an armchair crime watcher and based on considerable …
Read More »MASTER’S VOICE: Privy Council says Dumas damn right to demand info from State body
Hear ye, hear ye, O people of the babagreen—I cyar really say “grassroots” no more since in most places the grass cut and covered over with Bestcrete or pitch. Anyway, leh mih make mih point. The point is that ting happening and, Sherma Wilson, forgive me for calling your name …
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