“[…] The Mahaica Oval has no dressing rooms. You have to change under a tent in the car park—and this is a brand new venue. It is a sporting complex with no room for sporting personnel to change. Do you understand what I’m telling you? “[…] Most clubs have told …
Read More »Noble: The golden handcuffs—our love-hate relationship with Trinidad and Tobago
In 1958, the author, John Steinbeck, wrote an essay describing San Francisco as a city with “a golden handcuff with the key thrown away”. The article was a rhapsody about life in that city. On the other hand, we watch our nation slide into a putrid abyss—never leaving but badmouthing …
Read More »Vaneisa: Space for our diversity—T&T must resist “segregation” of “special interest” concerns
A long time ago, I had a discussion—maybe an argument—with a newspaper editor about what constituted “soft” news. He thought that issues affecting women were soft, and should be relegated to pages headed by labels that suggested they were for women only. Instinctively, I rejected that. It seemed to me …
Read More »B&B (Trailer): Shaka: ‘There’re very few opinions that actually count!’ Advice to modern athletes
Germany 2006 World Cup goalkeeper, ex-England Premier League stand-out and ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop offers advice to current athletes on handling public criticism. Check our full interview with Hislop on the Burdie and Barney Show, as we discuss memorable moments at the Tokyo Olympics, Angus Eve’s Soca Warriors, the Harry …
Read More »B&B Ep 14: Shaka Hislop on Tokyo Olympics, European club football, and athletes vs social media
Ex-England Premier League and Trinidad and Tobago World Cup goalkeeper and ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop talks to Burdie and Barney about his takeaways from the Tokyo Olympics, the Soca Warriors (and the Caribbean) at the Concacaf Gold Cup, the Harry Kane transfer saga, Barcelona FC’s fire-sale and athletes versus the …
Read More »B&B (Trailer): Shaka: The true cost of savage social media attacks on T&T’s Olympians
Germany 2006 World Cup goalkeeper, ex-England Premier League stand-out and ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop suggests a devastating toll on Trinidad and Tobago’s top athletes due to scathing social media attacks, like those inflicted on Rio 2016 Olympic Games boxer Nigel Paul. Look out for our full interview with Hislop on …
Read More »Noble: Leviathan vs Liberty; the danger in policing of Facebook and media manipulation
Last Sunday, the state of our national dialogue alarmed two Express columnists. Martin Daly described it as poisonous (‘The country has descended almost exclusively into the practice of the poisonous politics of demonisation.’) while Selwyn Cudjoe warned about the consequences (‘I don’t know how the acidic squabble between the prime …
Read More »Noble: Quo Vadis, Trinidad? A wide view of exchange between Faria, Hinds and Dr Rowley
As adopters of social media and smart phones, we reveal a lot about ourselves each day. We tell the world about our likes and dislikes, habits and families via Facebook and Twitter. We even disclose our travel plans to persons we do not know via Waze and Google. We expose …
Read More »Media musings—Pt 2: Opinion, reporting and commentary; the reason I write
“If you believe only in facts and forget stories,” Cassandra Clare writes in Lord of Shadows, “your brain will live but your heart will die.” So here is a short story that illustrates, I think, how the brain keeps itself alive, serendipitously collecting its own facts. Green Corner, Port-of-Spain, circa …
Read More »PEA claims ignorance of reporter’s race before ‘half pint house negro’ slur, case heads to Tribunal
A case of racially-charged ‘offensive behaviour’ filed by TV6 journalist Kejan Haynes against then Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) political leader Phillip Edward Alexander will be referred to a Tribunal for adjudication, after the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) rejected Alexander’s defence and a conciliatory meeting between the two parties failed to …
Read More »TTPS charge 22-year-old St Augustine man with sedition over Facebook post
Twenty-two-year-old Santa Margarita, St Augustine resident Jonathan Anthony Mohammed is the first Trinidad and Tobago citizen to be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act, after the DPP gave instructions to the Terrorism Interdiction Unit (TIU) on Friday 9 November. The Anti-Terrorism Act was initially passed in 2005 while it received its …
Read More »Let’s talk sport! Cabralis on administration, gov’t sponsorship, facilities and why Ahye should stay on social media
“[It was a] poor decision [by Michelle-Lee Ahye to shut down her social media accounts]. The PR people will tell you bad publicity, good publicity, it is still publicity nonetheless; and it is about how you use it. “Being a professional athlete, she makes money from running but her social …
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