“Why does Minister Imbert not address the foreign exchange leakage by the NLCB? According to the terms of their contract, IGT are supposed to transfer technology to locals. Yet, after a 30-year contract, no such transfer has occurred and Trinidad and Tobago continues to lose over US$350m annually.” The following …
Read More »Dear Editor: UWI’s Milner Hall an enduring monument to post-colonial mindlessness
“Built in 1927, The UWI’s oldest hall of residence on the St Augustine Campus still pays tribute to a man who was in the vanguard of the genocidal late 19th Century European imperialist project in Africa, which brutally wiped out large numbers of many ethnic groups while using forced labour to plunder the …
Read More »Dear Editor: A ‘one-off holiday’ for First Peoples? Are they children of a lesser god?
“Is it really proper that, when the list of 14 public holidays includes Indian Arrival Day and Emancipation Day, Eid-ul-Fitr and Divali, there should be no annual national celebration of the autochthonous group? “Is it really proper that, when the list of 14 public holidays includes Good Friday, Easter Monday, …
Read More »Dear Editor: MP Olivierre should stop politicking with child welfare and corporal punishment
“School violence in Trinidad and Tobago did not start with Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s term of office as Education Minister. That is a false premise, and when you start with a false premise, your argument is dead in the water.” In the following Letter to the Editor, novelist and social activist Merle …
Read More »Dear Editor: Authoritarian or authoritative? Are calypsoes more poetry than reliable history?
“Sparrow literally put words in Dr Williams’ mouth to great effect. “Since Dr Bird—thankfully!—is still alive, I am sure that he would be eager to tell journalists/researchers what statements in his calypso ‘Get to hell outta here’ and, for that matter, his other calypsoes were historically accurate and where he simply used …
Read More »Forex 101: Dr Farrell explains foreign exchange market and Central Bank’s role
“No minister or prime minister can cause the DPP to prosecute or discontinue a prosecution… No minister or prime minister can instruct the Commissioner of Police to arrest anyone. These offices, which are part of the Executive arm, have their independence explicitly protected in the Constitution as is the Judiciary …
Read More »Dear Editor: Anger, outrage, myopia, convenient excuses and inconvenient truths
“It is our right to express anger when there is inequity in the responses to the cries for help. It is our right as citizens and taxpayers to challenge the use of public funds and to question corruption and inefficiency. “It is also our right to speculate over the misappropriation …
Read More »Dear Editor: CARICOM, community, law and the PM’s invitation to Dominicans
“The public consternation caused by the Government’s decision also calls our value system into question. As all Caribbean people can attest, anywhere you travel in the world, you are guaranteed lodging in the home of some friend or family. Hospitality is as Caribbean as sun, sea and sand. “Furthermore, for …
Read More »Dear Editor: Disaster at Central Bank; QRC priest crushed by falling language standards
“She then almost gave out her sexual orientation when she said that she was ‘into Aaliyah’, and then attempted to correct it with ‘inter alia’ with the short ‘a’ pronunciation—which, by the way, is the correct Latin pronunciation. Only with the audience’s urging did she get it right in the end. Sigh!” The …
Read More »Dear Editor: Ignore misleading spasms of success; T&T sport is dead but here is how to save it…
“Yes, we won gold at the 4x400m at the last Worlds, our cricket team did a historic volte-face in the last Test match against England—setting all kinds of records in the process—and, with the help of an outstanding Cuban coach, we secured our second ever Olympic gold after 64 years …
Read More »Look Loy: TTFA misinterpreting own constitution to frustrate TTSL gala All-Star affair
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and Trinidad and Tobago Super League (TTSL) have adopted adversarial positions, thus far, on the latter’s staging of an All-Star match on 15 October 2017, which should involve celebrated retired football stars like Brazil’s Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Cafu. The following are releases from …
Read More »Dear Editor: Law Association out of line to scold members on response to Anand’s arrest
“The Law Association’s current attempt to stifle legitimate dialogue about matters of public interest—like excessive detentions and the abuse of police powers—is also an affront to the independence of the bar and the rule of law.” The following Letter to the Editor on the LATT’s response to statements by practising …
Read More »