It is clear to many of us that both the approach made to the Chair of the Police Service Commission by an unnamed public official and her subsequent actions were questionable and probably involved breaches of the Constitution. Admirably, she has resigned. She is due our gratitude and thanks for …
Read More »MSJ expresses solidarity with Lake Asphalt workers and others who are owed pay
“[…] This development is a clear reflection of how those in authority treat those they feel do not count whilst spewing the refrain that we are all in this together. In this regard, we also note the plight of the workers of the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), who have …
Read More »Demming: Going, going, going, gone! Goodbye, Gary Griffith
From 1956 to 1981, Trinidad and Tobago experienced what it is like to be led by an unapologetically patriarchal leader who made decisions on our behalf whether or not we supported them. During that period our two-island nation became the richest country in the Caribbean. For 25 years, the leadership …
Read More »$26,000 at stake in Wired868’s new Write Start contest for secondary school students
Got a teenager at home? Think (s)he has a novel or a short story nestling at the back of his/her head just waiting to get out? And what of teenagers in general? Agree that they have lost a lot of the skills that adolescents in your time had, including critical …
Read More »Daly: Restart recruitment process for CoP, and let PolSC and AG account for mess
If any of the emails, releases and obviously planted stories circulating within the last 36 hours have any substratum of fact, then the fact of interference in the selection process for a new commissioner of police and now apparent interference in the attempts to settle the attendant litigation seem confirmed. …
Read More »World Migrants and Refugees Day: T&T society must ‘counter xenophobic thoughts and actions’
“[…] The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) and the Archdiocese’s Ministry for Migrants and Refugees (AMMR) call upon the society of Trinidad and Tobago to come together in the spirit of community and counter xenophobic thoughts and actions so that we may best ‘welcome, protect, promote and integrate’ the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Continuing institutional failures; PolSC now looks as pliant as the rest
The manipulations of the appointment of a commissioner of police (CoP) consequent upon the expiry of the term of office of Gary Griffith are now out in the open and in the court. The court may provide such enlightenment as may be necessary concerning the character of employment governed by …
Read More »Noble: Looking after the poor is a good investment; T&T’s Budget should reflect that
‘Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.’ These words of Nelson Mandela should resonate as we approach our upcoming budget debate. A national budget is more than an economic forecast; it is a declaration about …
Read More »October webinar on life of ‘mighty’ Joe Young, trade unionist extraordinaire
“[Joe Young] was in his 30s when he led the bus strike that changed the nation, and when he spoke at the funeral of Basil Davis, one of the revolutionaries killed in 1970. “As a young person he was making real change, not just for himself but for a large …
Read More »Dear Editor: Griffith is a victim?! What about Jacobs, Diamond, Clinton and ‘Solo’ Morris?!
“[…] Now we have a national brouhaha about the legality of GG’s leave and whether he was told not to return. Forgive me but the degree of hypocrisy has reached Everest-like suffocation levels…” The following Letter to the Editor discussing the public reactions to the issue of the appointment of …
Read More »Dear Editor: Should Trinidad and Tobago not give Abu Bakr his due: a national award of dishonour?
“[…] There is no greater example of our misapplication of the national watchword, tolerance, than the way we treat Yasin Abu Bakr… He hosts press conferences, and participates in national discussions as if he is qualified or worthy. He is not. His very presence at the table is an insult …
Read More »Daly Bread: Smoke and mirrors—the NGC’s ‘negotiations’ and CoP commess
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 …
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