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General T&T, Politics, Sex Crimes

Sexual misconduct haunts public figures

3 Comments

By Raffique Shah
November 16, 2017

Raffique ShahAmidst an avalanche of allegations of sexual misconduct against a phalanx of prominent men, mostly in the USA, but also in other developed countries, one can anticipate a similar surge here in Trinidad and Tobago, although our litigation procedures are more constrained, some might argue restrictive, than in those jurisdictions. I argue, too, that cultural differences influence the way the local public, if not the courts, view such allegations.
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corruption, Education, General T&T, Racism Watch

Forged in the Bowels of Corruption: Pt 1

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 14, 2017

PART 1 — PART 2 — PART 3 — PART 4 — PART 5

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe last time I heard, the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) was a public institution, which suggests the public owns it. This suggests further that the public (in this case, the taxpayers) have a right to know what’s taking place at “our national university” since the taxpayers have spent billions of dollars to establish this public institution.
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Elections, General T&T, UNC

Kamla: Opponents want to mash up UNC

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By Seeta Persad
November 13, 2017 – newsday.co.tt

Kamla Persad-BissessarOpposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she remembered outlining to UNC members of a conspiracy to undermine former PM Basdeo Panday long before she became the leader of the UNC and her instincts were correct. Shortly after that meeting with supporters and voicing her concerns, the Congress of the People (COP) was formed with supporters of the UNC. “I was right about these people,” she said.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T

No scruples, no consciences

54 Comments

By Raffique Shah
November 9, 2017

Raffique ShahTwo Thursdays ago, at around 11 a.m., one of my brothers was robbed at gunpoint as he pulled up at the entrance to his home off Beaucarro Road. He had returned from First Citizens Bank in Couva where he had withdrawn a few thousand dollars to pay farmers who supply him with hot peppers. Three young men, one armed with a gun, rushed him and threatened to kill him. They searched his pockets, stole the cash, his wallet (with vital documents) and phone. After seizing his keys from his car and telling him to run for his life, they bolted to a car parked nearby and made good their escape.
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Crime in T&T, International, PNM, Politics, USA

Targeting Dr. Williams

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 06, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn October (2006) I reviewed Colin Palmer’s Eric Williams and the Making of the Modern Caribbean for the Journal of British Studies. I congratulated Palmer for exposing the intrigue of Britain and the United States against Williams when he fought for the return of Chaguaramas for the federal capital of the Federation of the West Indies. I wrote: “It might come as a shock to many that the United States gave some thought to ‘eliminating’ Williams during the Chaguaramas discussion. The British sought to sabotage his efforts.”
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Culture, Education, General T&T

Fall of giants—but there is hope

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By Raffique Shah
November 3, 2017

Raffique ShahA friend of mine, a Queen’s Royal College alumnus, no less, and an Afro-Trini, which is relevant only because of the theme of the discussion we had, having scanned the list of the 389 national scholarship winners, noted the demise of his alma mater in academic performance (and in sports, I should have reminded him), and more generally, the seismic shift in scholastic achievements from geographical, race and gender perspectives.
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Gender, General T&T, PNM, Politics

The Reeducation of Our Prime Minister

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 30, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn terms of native intelligence and intellectual brilliance, Keith Rowley is among the top three people who have held the prime ministerial office since independence. The same cannot be said of how he applies these talents to his present office. These attributes were on display when he was the leader of the opposition; now they have faded. Each office brings different challenges. A person may be successful in one and a dismal failure in the other.
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Court, General T&T, Health, Tobago

TRHA travesty

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Newsday Editorial
October 28, 2017 – newsday.co.tt

CourtThere are about 60,000 people living in Tobago. Yet, there is only one general hospital. And that hospital is killing patients. That, in a nutshell, is the damning view of the High Court which on Thursday found the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) culpable for the death of a child in circumstances which were wholly avoidable. According to Justice Frank Seepersad, 17-year-old Zach Seeram’s demise was due to the most basic of failings: the lack of a scan. Zach visited the hospital on no less than three occasions after receiving stab wounds which punctured his left lung, right diaphragm, liver and kidney. Despite repeated complaints and a recommendation that he undergo a CT scan, he was discharged.
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General T&T, Labour, Politics

Let casino workers plant peas in Cumuto

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By Raffique Shah
October 26, 2017

Raffique ShahIt says so much about this country, about the national psyche, when, in the wake of a budget that will impact the cost of living almost across the board, reducing people’s purchasing power, the most vociferous protests are coming from gambling establishments that add nothing productive to the economy, but enrich a handful of casino owners, pauperise thousands of families, reduce many female gamblers to prostitutes, and provide the biggest avenue for laundering the ill-gotten gains of criminal enterprises, in particular money from the illicit drugs and firearms trades.
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General T&T, PNM, Politics

Denigrating Women Again

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 23, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast week my friend Prime Minister Keith Rowley was at it again, demeaning women without having a clue about what he is doing to their mental health, their self-esteem and lowering their respect in the eyes of the nation. No one in the party seems to have the courage to tell the PM that his views on women are antiquated. What struck me most about Camille Robinson-Regis’s defense of the PM’s analogy of the grooming of women to the grooming of a golf course was her unconscious ability to participate in demeaning herself as a woman and a mother when she suggested there are more important things the nation should focus upon.
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