Elections, General T&T, Politics, Racism Watch, UNC

Please, not the Country Club

14 Comments

By Raffique Shah
July 18, 2015

Raffique ShahWHEN you don’t have a sense of history, especially your own, you can end up saying or doing the stupidest things, convinced that you are yourself making history.

Take the UNC’s choice of venue for its last Monday night meeting, the Country Club in Maraval. When I first heard the advertisement for the meeting, I thought there must have been some mistake, that maybe some upper-class support group had organised a soirée or banquet or some such social event to raise funds for the party’s campaign.
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Finance, General T&T

A Stunningly Bad Appointment

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 17, 2015

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn July 16th the Express reported that Mr. Jwala Rambarran, governor of the Central Bank, appointed Dr. Sandra Sookram to be a deputy governor. It was a stunningly bad decision; a continuation of the demonstrated incompetence Mr. Rambarran has shown since he became the governor in 2012. Such an appointment represents Mr. Rambarran’s continuing practice of sidelining strong competent people and elevating weak and incompetent acquaintances from which he can expect no challenges.
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Cuba, General T&T, USA

New US-Cuba Rapprochement

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Dr. Kwame Nantambu
July 17, 2015

Dr. Kwame NantambuThe historic diplomatic reality that the Obama administration has decided to re-establish a US embassy presence in Havana, Cuba on 20th July, 2015, signals a new geopolitical policy of the United States toward Cuba, albeit “Charting a New Course on Cuba.”

Firstly, by this diplomatic policy decision the Obama administration is renouncing the geopolitical decision by then US President Dwight Eisenhower to severe diplomatic ties with Cuba on 3rd January, 1962.
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General T&T, Schools

Youths Take Hillview’s 60th Birthday to the People

By Stephen Kangal
July 17, 2015

Stephen KangalThe continuing celebrations of Hillview College’s 60th Birthday were taken to the streets of the host community of Tunapuna on Saturday 27 June during a 5K fun run organized by an indefatigable Staff Member, Mr. Victorio Hawkins and his group of volunteers. Students from SAGHS, Trinity/Bishop’s, Lakshmi’s and other neighbouring schools joined the students of Hillview in a grand arena-type celebration enjoying great camaraderie among themselves.
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Crime in T&T, Elections, General T&T, ILP, People's Partnership, UNC

Jack upstages Kamla on Central walkabouts

16 Comments

By Renuka Singh
July 05, 2015 – guardian.co.tt

Jack WarnerA planned walkabout in embattled Enterprise, Chaguanas, by Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner yesterday upstaged an impromptu walkabout in the same area by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Warner and his ILP supporters walked right past the Postman Grounds where Persad-Bissessar and several top cops met with the residents to deliver football uniforms to the Crown Trace Football Club. The team has a game in Orlando, Florida, and the cost of flights and uniforms is being offset by the Government.
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Crime in T&T, Politics

Mismanaging the economy

7 Comments

By Raffique Shah
July 05, 2015

Raffique ShahIN the pre-election polls conducted thus far, the issues that are of concern to the electorate are crime, unemployment, corruption, health care and rising prices, mostly in that order.

The state of the economy does not feature at all, although it impacts almost all these concerns.

Understandably, crime is the number one issue. Notwithstanding claims by both the Government and the police that there have been significant decreases in “serious crimes”, clearly, most people live in fear of being victims.
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General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, Media, Politics

President Carmona, the IC and the public

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Guardian Editorial
July 05, 2015 – guardian.co.tt

President Anthony CarmonaThe problem is that members of the public might have been so distracted by the President’s rumshop reference—a terse dismissal of their questions and concerns—that crucial aspects of his statement might have been lost.

President Anthony Carmona’s reference to “rumshop logic” in describing citizens’ comments about the latest fallouts from the Integrity Commission is unfortunate. Not only did it defeat what was an otherwise laudable attempt to bring clarity to an issue that has long been a focus of national concern and debate, it has also reinforced recent negative perceptions of that agency. The President was well within his rights to deal with the matter at length—he was, after all the focus of much of the criticisms following the latest implosion of that august body. Unfortunately, his choice of words and his condescending tone served to alienate rather then enlighten.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Police, Politics, Violence

TT scores low on global peace list

By Julien Neaves
July 05, 2015 – newsday.co.tt

ViolenceTRINIDAD and Tobago has received its lowest ranking ever on an international peace list as the country continues to have maximum scores for homicides and violent crimes, and high scores for perceptions of criminality and access to weapons.

Former National Security Minister Gary Griffith, however, says the ranking should be taken with a “pinch of salt” while a local criminologist says it is not telling citizens anything they do not live as a reality.
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Elections, General T&T, ILP, Media, UNC

It’s the economy, clowns

26 Comments

By Raffique Shah
June 27, 2015

Raffique ShahIt is quite an indictment against most if not all of the adult population of this country that focus of attention in this election campaign thus far has been on scandals aplenty that titillate our perverted taste buds.

We are riveted to Jack Warner’s nocturnal meanderings that have traversed paper trails involving large sums of money allegedly paid to his former friends in the UNC, and crept into the private lives of the Prime Minister and her friends.
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