Category Archives: Politics

General T&T, PDP, PNM, Politics, THA, Tobago

COLONIAL TRAPPINGS

13 Comments

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 17, 2022

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn June 2001, the Japanese Black Studies Association invited me to deliver an address, “Identity and Caribbean Literature”, at Nara Women’s College, Nara, Japan (see trinicenter.com, June 24, 2001). Before I delivered my address, my host asked me to meet the president of her college, to which I agreed. I had stopped wearing ties because I considered it a useless trapping (literally) of colonialism. However, my host politely reminded me I had to wear a tie if I was going to see her president.
Continue reading COLONIAL TRAPPINGS →

COVID-19, General T&T, Health, Politics

Bring back the ‘Bull’

6 Comments

By Raffique Shah
January 10, 2022

Raffique ShahNot even George Orwell, who wrote the right-wing classic Animal Farm which summarised workers in power, post-revolution, in the worst possible light, could have scripted the post-Covid tragi-comedy that premiered a few weeks ago, when the Delta variant of the virus first showed what it could do, and now Omicron is breaking box office records, leaving mankind stupefied.
Continue reading Bring back the ‘Bull’ →

Elections, General T&T, PDP, PNM, Politics, THA, Tobago

Move Satan move

5 Comments

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 04, 2022

“You may know the man by the conversation he keeps.”

—Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOur Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, is reputed to have said to US President Joe Biden that the salient factor in our democracy is his capacity to listen to the opinions of his people. I hope he meant that he listened not only to what they say loudly and directly, but also to what isn’t said aloud but is equally as pertinent.

This is important: the Prime Minister’s success in office over the next four years depends upon his listening not only to what is said directly, but also to what is communicated silently.
Continue reading Move Satan move →

COVID-19, General T&T, Health, Politics

Let Medical Professionals Speak on COVID Vaccines

4 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
December 23, 2021

Stephen KangalThe emotionally charged response of Prime Minister Rowley to the Sunday Express feature article is exclusively more political than the requisite scientific in relation to his weak defense of the alleged low efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine.

He procured it with a secretive agreement from the Chinese with a huge cost — loan in a large quantity without obtaining any expected guarantee about its expected efficacy level even though scientists from developed countries refused to accept it as a genuine vaccine because trial results were not published globally and were not accessible.
Continue reading Let Medical Professionals Speak on COVID Vaccines →

COVID-19, General T&T, Health, Politics

Do your duty, dammit!

5 Comments

By Raffique Shah
December 20, 2021

Raffique ShahI do not believe there is a common factor that unites people of any particular pigmentation or persuasion across the world, except, perhaps, religious doctrines that are deemed to be the “words of God”, written or revealed by the Almighty Himself, hence not subject to alterations by man.

Those of us who have studied history know only too well that in the name of religion, of spreading the word of God, atrocities were committed, entire civilisations were wiped off the map, and the anointed soldiers of God just moved on to other souls to be saved by swiping heads off bodies, then raiding their treasures.
Continue reading Do your duty, dammit! →

Elections, PDP, PNM, Politics, THA, Tobago

One-half apology to Farley

5 Comments

By Raffique Shah
December 13, 2021

Raffique ShahOkay, I am prepared to give the new governor of Tobago one-half an apology for writing last week that he is a fool. “Be nice to the young man, nah… he trying to put together an energetic team to first salvage, then turn around the island’s economy…”

I gather as much, I responded, listening to him speak… But you and I know talk is cheap and promises even cheaper… until we see hard evidence of his performance, I shall stick with the half-apology.
Continue reading One-half apology to Farley →

Elections, General T&T, PDP, PNM, Politics, THA, Tobago

The Farley factor

4 Comments

By Paolo Kernahan
December 09, 2021 – newsday.co.tt

Farley AugustineTHE PNM’S rout at the hands of the fledgling People’s Democratic Patriots (PDP) in Monday’s THA elections came as quite a shock to many. The incumbent went from a six-six tie in the January poll to a 14-one annihilation.

On paper, this shouldn’t have happened. The THA was under the thrall of the PNM for more than two decades. The party prosecuted a blitzkrieg advertising campaign affording it near-ubiquity across the media. The Prime Minister is Tobagonian and freely lent his incandescent fear and fervour to the campaign.
Continue reading The Farley factor →

General T&T, PDP, PNM, Politics, THA, Tobago

Tobago goes green, historic win for PDP

8 Comments

By Gail Alexander
December 07, 2021 – guardian.co.tt

PDPA new day—Tobago has gone green.

A majority of Tobagonians opted for change yesterday when they elected the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) headed by Watson Duke and Farley Augustine to run their Tobago House of Assembly affairs until 2025.

Preliminary results indicated a PDP milestone with a majority of Tobago’s 15 seats – breaking People’s National Movement’s 21-year management of the THA.
Continue reading Tobago goes green, historic win for PDP →

Elections, General T&T, PDP, PNM, Politics, THA, UNC

Tobago’s date with fate

2 Comments

By Raffique Shah
December 06, 2021

Raffique ShahWouldn’t it be… ’er, amusing if the Farley Augustine-led, Watson Duke-bred Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) canters away to win the Tobago Stakes in tomorrow’s rerun of the House of Assembly election?

The last time these two political parties met, less than one year ago, the encounter ended in a controversial six-six tie which gave Duke bragging rights, not without merit, since his brand new PDP made sweeping gains in overall votes and in the number of seats it captured. Still, they did not dislodge the wily PNM which used incumbency as an instrument to get another shot at controlling the THA, which they have held since 2001.
Continue reading Tobago’s date with fate →

General T&T, Politics

Find—Not Seek

27 Comments

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 22, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeDuring my late teens, I was a passionate consumer and participant of the wisdom that was dispensed, free of charge, at the University of Woodford Square. I remember the atheistic comments that erupted from John Craig’s mouth and I was afraid of and for him. How could someone so blatantly berate a God who controlled our destiny and even knew that we would bounce our feet before it happened? Although these discourses and diatribes were conducted in a sarcastic manner, they were always humorous, non-threatening, and tolerant.
Continue reading Find—Not Seek →