“[…] Germany […] has several statues of Adolf Hitler by the renowned British sculptor Arnold Brecker. Absolutely no one in their right mind believes that these should be put back on public display because Hitler was part of their history. “There is a clear understanding that he represents something that …
Read More »Daly bread: A more fearful future; soaring crime, falling oil prices and coronavirus
We washed and put away our sailor costumes last weekend. That induced a stronger nostalgia than usual for the carefree days of Carnival generally and, in particular, for Carnival Tuesday as All Stars sailors. The nostalgia was a brief antidote to the keen awareness that murders—albeit unrelated to Carnival—remained an …
Read More »Daly Bread: Asking answers; mall crime, decommissioning St Ann’s Hospital and wrecker audit
Mall Panic screamed this newspaper’s front page very shortly after my column on malls becoming hotspots. Next, an editorial, acknowledged what its editors and commentators already knew: “Today, the failure to stem the tide of crime has made mall-shopping as vulnerable as shopping on the roadside.” The editorial linked crime to …
Read More »Judging Columbus through history (Pt 1): Balancing facts and myths
On October 12, the Cross Rhodes Freedom Project (CRFP), in collaboration with the Warao and Partners for First Peoples’ Development, staged a protest march against Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez’s vacillation on convening a forum for national dialogue on the CRFP’s call for the removal of Christopher Columbus’ statue …
Read More »Dear Editor: How to reform Port of Spain in 22 steps
“Create legislation to tackle food waste, convert vacant lots to green spaces, modernise the Central Market, acquire or repurpose abandoned buildings, close the QPS entrance/exit opposite Dundonald Street… partner with businesses to provide free WiFi!” The following Letter to Editor with 22 steps to reform Port of Spain was submitted …
Read More »The wisdom of Khan: good riddance to Tim Kee but Clyde Paul must follow him
Last Sunday’s column asserted that “the segregation in Carnival is a reflection of our wider society in which the worth of individual citizens is assessed not by merit first, but by reference to wealth, shade, address, connections and perceived status.” The fall out from the remarks of now departed—forced to …
Read More »Tim Kee’s final walk; POS Corporation would have picked Mayor over party
In the end, Raymond Tim Kee—buffeted on all sides—chose to jump, as he resigned his post as Port of Spain mayor. However, according to a well-placed source, he was unlikely to be pushed. Even as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and PNM chairman Franklin Khan called on Tim Kee to …
Read More »Media misleads public again on Tim Kee; Live Wire demands their resignation
The following is the actual excerpt from an an interview with Raymond Tim Kee on Sky 99.5 FM, just after lunch today: Interviewer Jessie-May Ventour: Mr Tim Kee, at the 12 o clock news we found out that you are still the mayor of Port of Spain, that you have …
Read More »Sparta?! Ha-ooh! Battle lines drawn as Tim Kee finally calls emergency meeting
Franklin Khan: A thousand armies of the PNM empire will descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun! Raymond Tim Kee: Then we will fight in the shade. Well, Mr Live Wire paraphrased slightly but it appears to be time for a royal battle. Four days later than …
Read More »Anatomy of a political suicide: Mr Live Wire, Tim Kee… and the Easter Bunny
It’s been a tumultuous weekend for Trinidad and Tobago, as two of the country’s larger than life characters appear to be on a collision course, after a startling public statement, subsequent inflation of egos and gathering of defiant supporters as well as the potential for a legal challenge. But enough …
Read More »Reaching across the divide: examining a culture of violence to women
Another woman is killed. Flung to the top of a mountain of murdered women so high her gold bikini lights up the sky. Broken body upon broken body, raining red waterfalls upon us. Down the streets, across the land, inside our homes and into our lives. Violence unrelenting, pain unrelieved, …
Read More »Divided masquerade: Trinidad Carnival is increasingly a “minority sport”
Two of my previous reviews of Carnival unequivocally set out issues within the festival that are troubling, particularly if Government is to continue funding the festival at the significant levels that it does. Last year’s review The minority sport of Carnival, referred to “the obvious acceleration of Carnival’s decline into …
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