Monthly Archives: May 2013

Gender, General T&T, Politics, Religion

Religion and the National Gender Policy – Keep the Myths Out

11 Comments

By Corey Gilkes
May 30, 2013

BibleAnyone needing confirmation that our organised religious bodies are by and large irrelevant and stultifying entities should look no further than their views concerning the National Gender Policy (NGP) here in Trinidad along with the LGBTQ and abortion issues. By now it should be common knowledge that Minister Marlene Coudray announced that the issue of same-sex relationships and equality would not be included in the discussion on the NGP. Frankly, it is of no surprise to me that the NGP is being watered down in the way it is; much of the impetus behind this diluting is coming from, predictably, the conservative religious bodies in the country – and no doubt the instinctive bias and prejudices among those in the political elites. This is being done by the time-honoured practice of isolating such issues as the LGBTQ question (which really isn’t what the NGP is about), then eventually other topics, just wait and see.
Continue reading Religion and the National Gender Policy – Keep the Myths Out →

General T&T, Hindu, India, Race and Identity

Happy Indian Arrival Ki Din

3 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
May 29, 2013

Stephen KangalOn the occasion of the 168th anniversary of the commemoration of the arrival of the East Indian community to Trinidad may I focus on the post-arrival vindication and justification of the system of Indus Valley customs and values. This tried and tested system has underpinned, dominated and pervaded the modus operandi of the East Indians and has been responsible for the degree of fulfilling lives and good law-abiding citizenry that they have conducted in T&T in spite of the adversarial conditions and hostile and negative environmental and social conditions that they had to overcome to gain acceptance to their culturally persistent way of life.
Continue reading Happy Indian Arrival Ki Din →

Africa, Caribbean, General T&T, Hindu, India, International, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

Indian Indentureship: Afri-centric Analysis

7 Comments

By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
May 29, 2013

Dr. Kwame NantambuThe purpose of this article is to conduct an Afri-centric, linkage analysis of the Indian Indentureship system.

In his magnum opus titled Capitalism & Slavery (1944), Dr. Eric Williams postulates that: “The immediate successor of the Amerindians was not the African but ‘poor whites’. They were regarded as ‘indentured servants’ because before leaving England, they had to sign a contract binding them to service for a stipulated period for their passage. Others were criminals/convicts who were sent by the British government to serve for a specific time on plantations in the Caribbean.” (p.9).
Continue reading Indian Indentureship: Afri-centric Analysis →

corruption, General T&T, Law, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Police, Politics, Security

A matter of trust

30 Comments

By Raffique Shah
May 26, 2013

Raffique ShahI CANNOT quite figure out why so many people are shocked by Keith Rowley’s “revelations” in Parliament last Monday, or alarmed that the string of e-mails he read into Hansard; at first blush, appears to be as bogus as Clifton De Coteau’s black mop. Parliament has long degenerated into a theatre of the absurd, a forum for dishonourable members to slander and scandalise each other, an arena in which targeted citizens are crucified before hordes of reality-television viewers, a fate far worse than that which Jesus Christ is said to have suffered however many centuries ago.
Continue reading A matter of trust →

Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, Police, Politics, Security, UNC

Rowley: Plot to cover up section 34

26 Comments

Plot to cover up section 34

By Gail Alexander
May 21, 2013 – guardian.co.tt

Dr. Keith RowleyOpposition leader Dr Keith Rowley wants the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Integrity Commission to probe e-mails purportedly bearing the names of frontline government officials who allegedly wanted to tap the DPP’s phone after the Section 34 furore. Rowley also claimed the e-mails revealed moves to shift the DPP to the judiciary and further discussed intended intimidation of a T&T Guardian reporter who broke the Section 34 story last September.
Continue reading Rowley: Plot to cover up section 34 →

Food, General T&T, India, Labour, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

The Closure of Caroni (1975) Limited

3 Comments

Politics before food

Sugar and Energy Festival Street Parade: October 09, 2005
Sugar and Energy Festival Street Parade – October 09, 2005

By Andre Bagoo
May 18 2013 – newsday.co.tt

THE CLOSURE of Caroni (1975) Limited and consequent devastating impact on the agriculture sector and TT’s food security, may be directly linked to political considerations surrounding the then PNM government’s fear of a repeat of the 18-18 general election deadlock of 2001, Tourism Minister Stephen Cadiz said yesterday.
Continue reading The Closure of Caroni (1975) Limited →

Business, Caribbean, Finance, General T&T, Media, People's Partnership, Politics

Cut CAL to the bone

4 Comments

By Raffique Shah
May 18, 2013

Raffique ShahIF ANYONE can produce proof that there was a time when this country’s state-owned national airline, in whatever incarnation, made a real profit over a sustained period, meaning at least one year, I would surrender my sanity and vote in the next election. I feel safely insulated from having to do something so unpalatable because I know that in the post-Independence history of BWIA, now CAL, taxpayers who may have never travelled on an aircraft have paid dearly to keep the airline afloat. In the process, they have funded generations of joy riders who are stricken with a stratospheric strain of “gas brains”, and affliction I call “plane brains”.
Continue reading Cut CAL to the bone →

General T&T, Law, Media, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC

Assault on Press Freedom

3 Comments

By George Alleyne
May 15, 2013 – newsday.co.tt

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarThe People’s Partnership Government’s deliberate policy of offering jobs to and the eventual hiring of several key members of the media, along with the dangling of additional employment prospects to yet other media practitioners, has been a not too subtle assault on Press freedom.
Continue reading Assault on Press Freedom →

Entertainment, General T&T

Suffering in silence

3 Comments

By Raffique Shah
May 12, 2013

Raffique ShahSHE had first contacted me a year ago, via a circuitous route, to relate a problem she faced at her Diamond Vale home and to see if I could offer any advice. Last week, the pensioner called again. Her problem remained unsolved. If anything, its impact on her health has worsened, and she had tried all avenues I had suggested, without success.
Continue reading Suffering in silence →