by Raffique Shah
Sunday, February 3rd 2008
THE newly appointed Minister of Culture, Marlene McDonald, assured the nation last Thursday that “all systems are in place” for this year’s Carnival. Her optimism came amidst a cacophony of protests, some from calypsonians, others from the pan fraternity, over the standard of judging at various competitions. This annual bacchanal has become as much a part of the Caribbean’s biggest street festival as the inane, mostly jarring songs-if one can so classify them-that form today’s (cess)pool of road march material. I imagine the minister, being a Trini, has grown to expect and accept such rumblings as par for the carnival course.
Continue reading Pan music as a tool in fighting crime
In light of the escalating crime rate in Trinidad and Tobago, and the perceived impotence of the Police Service to arrest the situation, I want to once again bring up the idea of decentralization of the major law-enforcement bodies. 
If anybody can convince me that a state of emergency would yield benefits in the fight against crime, I’d be willing to listen and act. So said Prime Minister Patrick Manning last week as he and others, the opposition UNC included, insisted that emergency powers were not required to deal with this unholy mess. I respond to the PM this way: show me that you can lower the level of crime using Minister Martin Joseph’s many “plans”, and I’ll concede that we do not need an emergency.
Though some may beg to differ, there is ample evidence to conclude that human beings are fundamentally evil. For any number of reasons, we almost instinctively oppress each other in the most brutal fashion. History is replete with genocide, slavery, ethnic cleansing, religious persecution, gender discrimination, economic and political oppression and the list goes on. Far from being exhausted, this does not even begin to scratch the surface of human savagery. According to Columbus’ own account, he received an enthusiastic welcome by native people who came bearing gifts. In response, he unleashed a reign of terror including rape, murder, pillage and enslavement.
Imagine, if you will, the execution last week of a 20-year-old Iranian whose family was told to “collect the body”, the first they would learn of their son’s sharia-decreed death. 
NEKEISHA Noel was breathless, shaking, excited. 
Now that Patrick Manning and the PNM have convincingly won the 2007 general elections, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues need to lace their work boots, adjust their coveralls, and get back to work without even a pause for refreshment or celebration. There is no honeymoon after a third marriage. Manning must have sensed a PNM victory well before elections day-as sober observers did-those who were not carried away by highly inflated crowd numbers, especially the paid-for versions. So now, as George Chambers said after his 1981 victory: fete done, it’s back to work.