“[…] Mr Watson Duke may wish to withdraw his statement about investigation of the Prime Minister, which is erroneous, libellous and no doubt seeps from a well of ignorance of the interaction to which he referred and of matters of international engagement. “[…] Mr Duke’s understanding of the situation and …
Read More »Dear Editor: Why hasn’t T&T copied Thanksgiving? Hear me out…
“[…] I’m not ‘ponging’ our copying culture, so much as accepting it and asking a logical question. If we’ve copied America so much, why not copy something that could do us some good as well? “The American Thanksgiving holiday is the best public holiday on their national calendars because it …
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Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced today the People’s National Movement (PNM) has ‘withdrawn’ retired Brigadier General Ancil Antoine as its candidate for the D’Abadie/O’Meara constituency, due to ‘insensitive and objectionable statements’ made at his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 »US Embassy: Racist violence and discrimination ‘absolutely contrary to what US stands for’
“Our hearts are with the American people as we mourn the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. I know the grief from this loss weighs heavily on our US Mission, our nation, and our friends…” The following statement on the killing of unarmed, handcuffed black man, Floyd George, by …
Read More »‘An issue for every single one of us!’ Shaka Hislop on the killing of George Floyd
‘Riot is the language of the unheard’—Reverent Dr Martin Luther King Jr George Floyd’s death has sparked riots and reactions like I have not witnessed during my lifetime. Coming at a time when the many faces of racism and racist reaction had already brought the conversation to the front pages. …
Read More »Claude’s Comments: When CIA plotted to remove Dr Williams; and how USA is violating Rio Treaty
I couldn’t resist beginning by paraphrasing from calypsonian Bally’s 1987 masterpiece ‘It’s party time again’: five years nearly done, so let’s ramajay… if you see ram goat, join the bacchanal, just to get your vote. I intended to sit this one out, but for the statement by US Ambassador Joseph …
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 »MSJ: The problem with the Rio Treaty; and how gov’t, opposition and media got Venezuela imbroglio wrong
“[…] Central to this entire issue is the United States’ agenda with respect to Venezuela. If the US had not imposed sanctions on Venezuela there would be nothing for the government to explain about a visit by the vice-president of Venezuela, nothing to explain about the sale of fuel by …
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 »Kamla: Rowley must come clean on Venezuela meeting; Rowley: ‘You are a traitor lady!’
On 27 March 2020, the Trinidad and Tobago government temporarily re-opened its borders for a meeting with a seven-member delegation from Venezuela, headed by vice-president Delcy Rodríguez, which—according to a press release—‘focused on the strategy being deployed in both countries to combat Covid-19’. However, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar suggested, in …
Read More »Kambon: It is in T&T’s self-interest to help Venezuela, but don’t let USA find out
“[…] If the government sold oil directly or indirectly to Venezuela they did not breach any national law and, according to the Charter of the United Nations, they did not breach any international law… “Apart from our moral and humanitarian obligation to Venezuela, our own self-interest is involved…” The following …
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