In Smoke and Mirrors, Demi Lovato doubts her lover and asks: “Now that I see you clearer, I wonder, was I really happy? Now that I see you clearer, was it just smoke and mirrors?” An eighteenth century smartman is credited with the first use of a light projector to …

The Delta variant is a rapid-fire version of the Covid-19 virus. It is capable of killing many and killing quickly. There are also a growing number of pediatric cases—children having been spared from the original virus. Two weeks ago the New York Times reported that ‘one in five ICUs (intensive …

Our governance arrangements and political style have left us in an uncomfortable void. Our country is not nearly as well managed as we could make it. We have not employed an enlightened combination of the country’s resources, citizen commitment and fairness. There are not many countries that have achieved satisfactory …

The words of Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet inspire generations of readers all over the world. In the words of an Oxford University lecturer, the book ‘serves various occasions or big moments in one’s life’. I have so far escaped the worst of the deprivations of the pandemic. My pandemic …

Commentators and editorial writers have already assessed that the showing of our Trinidad and Tobago athletes at the recent concluded Tokyo Olympic Games was poor and below the medal standard that we have achieved in every Olympics since Barcelona 1992. Ironically, at the previous Tokyo Olympics in 1964, our then …

There is a dreary monotone in government communications about the pandemic, provoking comments to the effect that the government’s messaging is running out of steam and repetitive and some personages are overexposed. Imaginative strategies to encourage vaccination and the maintenance of mask wearing are urgently needed, particularly in view of …

What do sugar and a Sikorsky helicopter have in common? Perhaps the Sikorsky deal, currently prominent news, was a sweet one with too much sugar. But there is more to it than that. We have been consistently told that a significant number of our Covid deaths are the result of …

Many lives and our economic survival depend on the availability of vaccines in sufficient numbers to vaccinate 70 percent or greater of the adult population. We are re-opening for business before the 70 percent target is achieved and before more is known about the Delta variant, described as ‘relentless’. That …

Have we taken a good look at ourselves? It is not an encouraging picture. We should have been re-assessing our tiny nation’s place in the world on an ongoing basis since Independence, long before we were reminded of our lowly place by having to stand in line for a supply …

Most politicians will only present information to the public in a form that is perceived to be politically advantageous. When confronted with the reality of adverse events, denials or attempts, the first reaction is to trivialise reality—and sometimes in an obnoxious manner. We have the added disadvantage of the poisonous …

In the post-vaccination world, borders will re-open to travellers from outside—with the exception of certain countries and subject to specific requirements. In this second summer under the pandemic, we will be restless and chafing against our current border closure regime as large numbers of Caribbean persons want to renew our …

The utterances of the leader of the opposition are regressing further. They descended last week into the disgusting, when she attacked the members of the public health medical team, who regularly appear at the Covid-19 Response media conferences.   She linked them to ‘state-sanctioned murder’ because we have over 600 …