Akilah Holder’s impassioned column—in which she took umbrage at a gay man sharing his feelings of self-acceptance and his spiritual certainty about being loved and accepted by God—generated a lot of buzz, most of it negative and condemnatory. While I agree with those who pointed out the poor reasoning skills—the …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2018
Dear Editor: Do Port-of-Spain-based media have inherent bias against Indian culture?
“[Joan] Rampersad’s ‘December’ section highlighted the relocation of Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, a film featuring the Mighty Sparrow, the trial of soca artistes Machel Montano and Kernal Roberts, and the QED, Lydians and Marionettes Christmas concerts. Not a single Indian cultural event was mentioned.” The following Letter to the Editor, which charges …
Read More »“I feel like a total failure!” Ex-T&T World Youth Cup star, Rochford, still awaiting surgery after 18 months of runaround
“I does watch myself in the mirror every day,” former T&T national youth and senior team midfielder Jean-Luc Rochford confessed. “[I ask myself] how you come from being a national player, from scoring in a World Cup, from creating history, to being somebody who cyah even play the game they …
Read More »Helon was Rudder-like! St Bernard sees positive calypso change coming from the new generation
The return of the Kings and Queens to Sunday’s Dimanche Gras made for a good show. Calypso won as, although there were too many props, there was no excess of lame melodies, thank God, and no overdose of prosaic lyrics. It was refreshing to hear music back in our calypso; …
Read More »Kingdom come! Machel gets ninth Road March and clean bill of health from Guardian; Plus Rowley’s terror update
Soca star Machel Montano secured his ninth Road March title yesterday after his collaboration with Super Blue, “Soca Kingdom”—an okay song but a brilliant marketing slogan—beat Iwer George’s “Savannah” and Patrice Roberts “Carnival Sweet Fuh Days” into second and third place respectively. Even more important, Machel got a clean bill …
Read More »Dear Editor: Are women less equal than men? Media should leave Weekes’ private life alone!
“Men who hold high office in our society are never asked these questions by our journalists, regardless of the number of rumours that fly about on social media. That is because they are entitled to have their most private lives kept private, save and except where it seriously affects their …
Read More »Dear Editor: Imbert and the PNM are in charge; let’s see them trying to solve the problems
“The question is whether any government has the political willpower to effect the necessary changes to make the Police Service efficient. I am not optimistic about an answer in the affirmative because the scale of systemic neglect extends to the health services and social care as well as environmental management and …
Read More »No Holders Barred: Get it straight! No letter in LGBTQI stands for God
On 8 October, 2013, Newsday published a letter to the editor, headlined “Say no to gay marriages” and signed by Valentine Young, with which I fully agreed. Young’s position was that the legalisation of same-sex marriages had brought God’s wrath upon the United States of America (certain states anyway) because …
Read More »Time to scrap Dimanche Gras! Best suggests Culture Minister take page from Machel and Kees
An Open Letter to Culture Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly Dear Madam, It’s over, madam. Dimanche Gras is dead. Like the numerous, onerous pretty costumes the Pegasus Fancy Sailor and Tan Tan and Saga Boy relegated into irrelevance, the show is arguably now exposed as a creaking, antediluvian anachronism, not merely moribund …
Read More »Montel saves penalty as Central FC edge out Atlántico for Caribbean semifinal spot
HydroTech Central FC will represent the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League in the semifinal round of the 2018 Club Championship after the “Couva Sharks” held on for a gutsy 1-0 win over Dominican Republic outfit, Atlántico FC, yesterday at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Atlántico, unbeaten in the …
Read More »Change at the top! Helon Francis crowned 2018 Calypso Monarch; Voice finishes second
There was change at the top of the calypso pyramid last night as 24-year-old Helon Francis was crowned the 2018 Calypso Monarch with “Changes”—a powerful social commentary about Trinidad and Tobago’s need for introspection and revolution of thought to address corruption and crime in the two-island republic. Much of the …
Read More »“Swords are drawn and the venom is clear!” Shabazz talks women’s football and Pro League/Super League debate
“For me, it is always about finding a way for our people to work together and not be so divisive. Football has become like the streets: swords are drawn and the only thing that has not happened is bloodshed because the venom is so clear and you can see people …
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