Letters to the Editor

Congratulations to the people of Trinidad and Tobago on a relatively peaceful and safe electoral process. Now that the ‘carnival is over’, to quote the late great, grandmaster: let’s see who is who, and who is made of what. Like many, I too anticipated the change—though I did not think …

“[…] Knowing public opinion helps parties in the closing weeks of an election… Well-done opinion polls that are made public give everyone access to the same information. This approach helps our democracy. “[…] The Ghany approach raises two main methodological concerns that merit closer examination: sample size (approximately 125 per …

“[…] Surely, we are supposed to be fed up and tired of the mess perpetrated on us by politicians who profess to be spiritually moral and incorruptible, yet they and their fanatics on social media, radio talk shows and letters to the editor, encourage and promote: “Lies, half-truths, innuendos, picong, …

“[…] The now-infamous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), exposed thanks to Afra Raymond’s successful legal challenge, showed a lopsided agreement. The state was to fund and build the resort on public land. “In turn, Sandals would enjoy sweeping concessions—tax holidays, duty-free status, unlimited work permits for foreigners, and no obligations to …

“[…] The [Appeal] Court ruled that, despite modern thinking and growing public support for human rights, parts of our Constitution still protect colonial laws. The judges admitted their limitations: they don’t make the laws, they interpret them. The real work, they said, is for Parliament. “That ruling […] was a …

“[…] Both the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal noted that the motivations of the JLSC [in the Marcia Ayers-Caesar case] were not malign. “[…] In my view, reforms are needed of both the Constitution and the Judicial and Legal Services Act. The basis of the reforms must be …

“[…] Here in Trinidad and Tobago, the Road March results still rely on a manual system—TUCO officials physically count song plays at competition venues. “This outdated process is not only time-consuming but also vulnerable to human error, bias, and undue influence…. Embracing digitalisation in Carnival adjudication could resolve these challenges …

During the Bush 2.0 Administration, pious Christian Nationalist and Attorney General John Ashcroft demanded that two nude statues, called Spirit of Justice and Majesty of Justice, in the Great Hall be covered up with blue drapes, because he deemed the human nudity “indecent” and “distracting”. These were works of art …

“[…] In the news just recently, we had a case of a sitting MP evading a collection agency over a TT$600,000 debt. This is in addition to him having an outstanding defamation order in the amount of TT$500,000. Another aspirant to public office has multiple defamation judgements pending against and …

“[…] The calypso artform, like other artforms, has […] always been constantly evolving. Although I am an elderly person, I was quite impressed with many of the calypsos sung by many young calypsonians this year. “I particularly like Yung Bredda’s We Rise. He gave an absolutely superlative performance at the …

“[…] Take any of the problems that US president Donald Trump promised to address and there is always a degree of positivity in them. For example, the situation of immigration where he promised to stop the droves of immigrants entering the USA through illegal channels. “[…] But while we may …

“[…] Dennise Demming, like many others, highlights Dr Keith Rowley’s TT$87,847 pension while juxtaposing it against the TT$3,000 pension of senior citizens. This comparison is both disingenuous and misleading. “The salaries and benefits of public officials, including the prime minister, are determined by the Salaries Review Commission—an independent body tasked …