For more than a decade, I have consistently taken the position that so called stakeholder consultations, pretty ministerial speeches and public relations announcements will contribute little to improving the lives of our disadvantaged young people—many of whom are easily lured into violent crime as a way of life. One reason …
Read More »Noble: For Better or Worse? Why proposed NSI Bill won’t provide statistics we need
Official statistics seeks to inform the public about social and economic matters and helps develop and evaluate public policy. It is the foundation for a properly run society. In 2014, the IMF bemoaned: “Growing statistical shortcomings have rendered the conduct of surveillance ever harder and must be addressed.” In other …
Read More »St Bernard: Stop messing with our groovy; why NCC is doing soca more harm than good
The National Carnival Commission (NCC) may have done more harm than good to the soca music industry by putting money into Soca Monarch. Soca Monarch organisers decided to give the so-called Power Soca more relevance and importance than the so-called Groovy. They decided to pay the Power Soca winner twice …
Read More »Demming: T&T women need sexual harassment legislation not policy! #Metoo passed us by
In 2017, Barbados passed legislation which will provide for the protection of employees in both the public sector and private sector from sexual harassment in the workplace. The Bill further provides a framework for the reporting of sexual harassment cases by employees and a method of resolving such cases. In …
Read More »Dear Editor: Where is the Darryl Smith Report? Rowley administration hypocritical on sexual harassment
“What can be taking the [Dr Keith] Rowley Administration almost a year to deal with the contents with an already completed report [on former Sport Minister Darryl Smith]? “Why the hesitancy by Prime Minister Rowley to make public the committee report?” The following Letter to the Editor on the government’s …
Read More »CAL extends sympathy after tragic Ethiopian plane crash, reveals own Boeing stock and safety checks
Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has assured customers that it will ‘put the safety of its passengers, crew and operations first’ in the wake of Sunday’s tragic Ethiopian Airlines plane crash in Addis Ababa, which left all 157 passengers dead. The fatal crash was the second in five months involving a Boeing …
Read More »Daly: Mas not done, check the Judiciary; Justice Jamadar should stay in his section
Mr Justice of Appeal Peter Jamadar should have stayed in his section. His statement in the capacity of Acting Chief Justice attempting to set boundaries for the long established tradition of satire and calling out ‘mocking pretenders’ during the Carnival season was surprising. Returning from my usual chip with All Stars …
Read More »Famalay for the Road! Machel nears record; here’s how he compares with Kitchener and Super Blue
Soca star Machel Montano is now just one hit away from the all-time record for Road March titles, as he was awarded his tenth crown today by TUCO for Famalay—a collaboration which includes Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez and Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle. Famalay was played 346 times at the respective …
Read More »Thompson: More, Sparrow, More! Why Cutteridge won battle but Sparrow took the war
The following is the fourth and final instalment in Owen Thompson’s four-part series on the classic album, More Sparrow More!, by iconic calypsonian Slinger “Sparrow” Francisco: There are other equally telling avenues that allow us to arrive at meaning and afford us powerful glimpses into the unique quality of the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Resolving the concerns over the judiciary, Gafoor suggests mediation
“At stake here is the constitutional right to freedom of expression, which is ventilated not only during the Carnival season but is an entitlement which belongs to all citizens protected under the Constitution and the common law, subject only to the law of defamation or other statutory constraints…” In the …
Read More »Thompson: A lizard, school ma’am, Martinican mademoiselle and Sparrow’s sporting cock
The following is the third in Owen Thompson’s four-part series on the classic album, More Sparrow More!, by iconic calypsonian Slinger “Sparrow” Francisco: In Sa Sa Ay, Sparrow begins by making us all complicit eavesdroppers, inviting us both at the end of the first and the second stanzas to listen …
Read More »Daly Bread: Needing a new Kambule; why T&T Carnival requires a paradigm shift
At the Panorama semi-finals two weeks ago, I became involved in a discussion with Eintou Springer, her daughter Attilah and an official of Pan Trinbago. The discussion turned to how Pan Trinbago spent the taxpayers’ money it received from complicit governments in the past and apparently continues on the same path. …
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