Monthly Archives: August 2016

General T&T, Health, Politics

Living with Parkinson’s

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By Raffique Shah
August 11, 2016

Raffique ShahI had no idea that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was seriously ill when I slammed into him last week for failing to take full charge of his responsibilities to the country. Upon reading that Dr Rowley’s ailment required him to have a series of medical tests conducted in the USA, I felt I owed him a sincere apology, which I tender here.

You see, in the years I’ve known him, I considered Keith an exemplar of fitness that those who hold public office should emulate. Because of my training, lifestyle and experience, I’ve often advised holders of high office with whom I’ve interacted that whatever the demands on their time they should set aside at least one hour a day for some form of exercise.
Continue reading Living with Parkinson’s →

General T&T, PNM, Politics, Schools

Stop the GATE madness

By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
August 10, 2016

Dr. Kwame NantambuThe recent policy decision by the People’s National Movement Government to revamp the Government Assistance for Tertiary Expenses (GATE) programme is indeed a most welcomed and long overdue move.

The fact of the matter is that adult citizens of this country both under and over 50 years of age have been abusing and dismembering this State funded programme for years.
Continue reading Stop the GATE madness →

General T&T, NJAC, Politics, Race and Identity

Passing of Chief Servant Makandal Daaga

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Makandal Daaga
Deceased: Makandal Daaga

National Joint Action Committee’s News Release

The Political Leader and members of the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) along with Mrs. Liseli Daaga and family, sadly announce the passing of Chief Servant Makandal Daaga (formerly Geddes Granger), founder of NJAC and former Cultural Ambassador to CARICOM. Chief Servant Makandal Daaga passed away at the Port of Spain General Hospital at 1.35pm today (Monday 8th August 2016). Bro. Daaga would have turned 81 years on Saturday.
Continue reading Passing of Chief Servant Makandal Daaga →

General T&T, Passed on

My Friend, The Late Karl Case

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 07, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThis week I want to talk about my friend Karl “Chip” Case and his greatness in the same way Rudyard Kipling talked about its manifestations in the following lines: “If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,/ ‘Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch.” For the past thirty years I have walked with a king but did not know it. But then again, if I knew it, I may not have treated him as just another person.
Continue reading My Friend, The Late Karl Case →

Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, PNM, Police, Politics

Lead, or shut up

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By Raffique Shah
August 07, 2016

Raffique ShahI don’t know what plans he has for his vacation, but I strongly recommend to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that he spend all of it in solitary self-confinement seeking guidance from whatever deity or deities he believes in regarding his leadership capabilities.

I don’t care whether it’s an ashram, a monastery or Papa Neezer’s shrine, I honestly believe that Keithos can benefit from a mega-dose of divine intervention to help him determine whether he has what it takes to lead this cussed country out of the morass it has been mired in for decades.
Continue reading Lead, or shut up →

General T&T, International, Islam, Law, Letters, Politics, Religion

Re Youths and ISIL

lettersTHE EDITOR: So, the reactionaries have only recently ‘discovered’ that scores of youths are leaving Trinidad to fight with ISIL. Predictably, they react by talking about blocking their re-entry, jailing them, etc. In other words, pretty much the same punitive measures they insist on applying to gang violence and school bullying.
Continue reading Re Youths and ISIL →

Africa, Culture, General T&T

Self-Identity: The Key to Mental Emancipation

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By Ayinde
August 02, 2016

Emancipation“The stories of our past should not condemn us to the turmoil of acrimony; but rather they should show us a path for achieving the positive and prosperous development of our country now and for the generations to come. . . . We are currently writing new pages in our history. . . . We need to ask ourselves, are we facilitating new prejudices and divisions in our society? Are we perpetuating a mindset of entitlement – claiming rights where instead we should accept personal responsibility? . . . Are we committed to working together in the best interest of our country? Can we look past the ‘me’ and ‘my group’ to the bigger picture of nationhood?”
Continue reading Self-Identity: The Key to Mental Emancipation →

Culture, General T&T, PNM, Politics

May Their Bread Be Buttered Over

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
Submitted: July 31, 2016
Posted: August 02, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeTomorrow (August 1st) is Emancipation Day. It’s a day on which the formerly enslaved commemorate their freedom; a practice they have undertaken since 1848 although there have been interruptions over the years. Generally, two different strata (those whose bread had been better buttered and those whose bread have been larded) have celebrated their emancipation in different ways.
Continue reading May Their Bread Be Buttered Over →

General T&T, Labour, Oil and Gas, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Recession, UNC

Sugar industry was doomed to fail

By Raffique Shah
Submitted: July 26, 2016
Published: August 01, 2016

Raffique ShahTrinidad & Tobago, as a very inefficient producer of sugar, relying heavily on preferential, prices for the commodity from Britain, and later the European Union, should have scaled back sugar production from the 1970s when the industry’s losses mounted year after year, soon to reach uncontrollable levels.
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Africa, General T&T, Media, PNM, Politics

PM: Are we perpetuating a mindset of entitlement?

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August 1, 2016 – guardian.co.tt

Dr Keith RowleyIn the new pages of history currently being written in T&T, questions that arise include whether people are facilitating new prejudices and divisions in T&T’s society and also, if a mindset of entitlement is being perpetuated, says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Continue reading PM: Are we perpetuating a mindset of entitlement? →