Tag Archives: LATT

“[…] The late Basdeo Panday told us that ‘politics has a morality of its own’. That characterisation is certainly true of the practice of politics, well-known for back-stabbing, lying, and hypocrisy, here and indeed everywhere. “[…] But surely there are some areas of national life which should remain uninfected, if …

An indication given in a weekly column to deal with an identified topic “next week” is one that is difficult to implement. Things keep rapidly falling apart and the nasty quarrels between those in public life who are responsible for our governance burst into the news cycle with an intensity …

The ultimate sin today is criticising a group, especially on moral grounds. We live in a nihilistic post-shame era. There are no permanent standards, just the shifting judgment of the crowd.  We have a culture of oversensitivity, overreaction and frequent moral panics, during which everybody feels compelled to go along. …

“[…] All of these are instances of police officers enforcing a law which does not exist. There is no law which says you cannot be on the road after 8pm, no law which says you can only go to the grocery if absolutely necessary, no law which empowers the police …

On 4 February 2020, the Attorney General introduced the Interception of Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (the ‘Bill’) in the Senate. The Bill has noble intentions, but as we all know the road to hell is paved with such intentions. The Bill seeks to amend the Interception of Communications Act by …

“With so much of everything how do we leave with nothing?” This question is asked in a multi layered (adults only) song called the ‘Blame Game’, a collaboration between John Legend and Kanye West, released in 2010. I came across this last Sunday on one of those Sunday mornings when …

“The Prime Minister’s decision to refer, or not refer, allegations to the President—who in turn is constitutionally charged with appointing a tribunal to formally investigate such allegations—is itself an intrusion into judicial independence and the usual separation of powers. “To then have a Court review the Prime Minister’s exercise of …

“Twenty years ago, the ‘Nolan principles’ in the UK sought to improve standards in public life. These seven principles are: Selflessness; Integrity; Objectivity; Accountability; Openness; Honesty; Leadership. At the time, these principles were revolutionary because they focused on behaviour and culture, rather than processes. “You’d be hard-pushed to find anyone …

“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 …

“The prohibition of advertising serves only to restrict the information that flows to consumers… Advertising is the traditional mechanism in a free market economy for a supplier to inform a potential purchaser of the availability and terms of exchange. “[…] In the absence of advertising, an attorney must rely on …

“When a Minister (or Prime Minister) is asked to exercise his discretion to establish an inquiry (as you are being asked to do), he ‘must do so in a manner that conforms to basic public law principles of reasonableness and due consideration of relevant matters’. “There is a duty to …

A significant number of persons, including those who have deluded themselves, have written about the habit of rationalisation. Ayn Rand, the philosopher, wrote: “Rationalisation is a process of not perceiving reality, but of attempting to make reality fit one’s emotions.” It is too early to make an assessment whether Gary Griffith …