“[…] One of the initiatives that I started was every child at the school had to belong to a club, so that school is not just about the academics, but school is about developing the child holistically. “At the school right now, we have an arts and crafts club, we …
Read More »Noble: Understanding poverty and greed; two sides of the same coin
“Poverty is hell, and the angels are in Paradise/ Driving in their limousine, where everything is nice and clean…” Shadow, the calypsonian. Shadow sets the stage in his opening lines: one cannot understand poverty without appreciating the wealth on the other side. Poverty and greed are two sides of the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Education triple whammy
Two weeks ago, I described conditions in the education system as destructive. I identified what I called the double whammy as follows: “We persist in giving priority to grammar school type education for children who may be otherwise talented or motivated, but who have little aptitude for many of the …
Read More »Noble: Only stronger households can save T&T from cost of great Hypocrisy
“You help others who don’t do as well by lifting the people who do well and making them the example so others will follow. But you don’t lift the children, you don’t motivate, you don’t inspire. “You want to talk about bad parenting but do not want to commend, acknowledge, …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T must address destructive education conditions
Both Professor Emeritus Dr Ramesh Deosaran and Darius Figuera, well known criminologist, last week expressed distaste for the Government and Opposition “continuing to pursue petty political agendas” while the proposed talks on crime cannot get started. Figuera condemned both sides, saying that they are “clearly in general election mode engrossed …
Read More »Vaneisa: The republic of subterfuge—TSTT sacking, Tobago taxi no-shows par for the course
From the time I heard the news reports about the 300 cruise-ship passengers being stranded without tour transport in Tobago because the maxi-taxi operators failed to show up, something seemed fishy. The explanation given by president of the Tobago Maxi Taxi Association Cloyd Williams was that it was a combination …
Read More »Noble: The problem with Roget’s fixation on criminality of ‘urban youth’
“In my 50-60 years, I have never heard so much corruption in my land as in the last few days… People are stealing money as though they invented it. It seems almost as though the rich have taken a vow to thief, thief, thief…” Ambassador Makandal Daaga, the then leader …
Read More »Daly Bread: Saturday morning serenade at the Green Market
Upon arrival at the Green Market in Santa Cruz, two Saturdays ago, I bumped into a professional couple—each highly placed where they work. One of them asked me to write some more about the pan and the peace dividend. The week before what I am about to describe, I met …
Read More »Kitchener and Sparrow not good enough for top ten? Ah wanna fall!
Is greatness, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? The question is broached in a not-very-good Calypso History Month piece penned by Debbie Jacob in a recent Newsday article under the headline: ‘My top ten calypsoes’. Alas, she offers no answer. “When it comes to narrowing down all the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Government gaps in call out on crime
My close friends are worried for the safety of commentators on violent crime. In my case, they firmly believe that I have done enough in analysing the untouched core of criminal activity. At that core, regardless of which political party is in government, is the troubling intersection of party politics, …
Read More »Noble: The Israel-Hamas War and the Bible—silence in the face of evil
“Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident. The Holy Land is an attraction for us because of the Hebrew Torah, the Christian Bible, and the Quran with their stories of Judaism, the foundation of Christianity, and the creation of …
Read More »Daly Bread: “Firetrucking” courageous and consistent—remembering BC
BC Pires, renowned writer and journalist, recently deceased at age 65, was encouraging when I became a weekly columnist. Whatever the bite of his satire, BC could always be kind and affable. On one occasion I met him by chance on the steps of the Hall of Justice and he …
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