By Linda E. Edwards
Comments on the speech by His Holiness Benedict XV1 at the University of Rothenburg on September 12, 2006.
Thank You, Editors of the Guardian Unlimited UK, for reproducing the speech in its entirety so that people everywhere who write and think in English could follow what was said.
Continue reading The Pope’s Lecture in Germany
By Errol F. Hosein
September 18th, 2006
To Catholics, the pope is infallible. To the larger mass of humanity he is just another man who represents a particular religious sect. And as such he can make mistakes and he can be wrong on a variety of issues.
Continue reading Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Gilbert
PM puts Immigration chief under heavy manners
… meanwhile, illegal Nigerian and Caricom aliens running wild in T&T
By AZAD ALI Chief Reporter, tntmirror.com
September 15, 2006
PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning has called on Chief Immigration Officer Herman Browne to stop the harassment of Chinese immigrants in this country.
Continue reading STOP harassing Chinese!
By Raffique Shah
August 17, 2006
Whatever the facts or fantasies or conspiracy theories about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon back in 2001, what is undeniable is that thousands of innocent people died. I emphasise this because there are many people worldwide who are convinced it was not Al Qaeda operatives who pulled off that spectacular on 9/11. There are too many discrepancies in what we saw, and more in what we did not see. That Osama bin Laden and his associates claimed responsibility for the carnage does not necessarily mean they did it. Such organisations are known for laying claim to acts that propel them to the limelight only for the sake of publicity, and to look good in the eyes of their supporters.
Continue reading Selective sympathy for victims of terrorism
by Jeremy Page
The Government hopes that its offer of £580 will help to break an unjust hierarchy
THE Indian Government is offering 50,000 rupees (£580) to higher-caste people who marry spouses from the lowest castes in its latest controversial effort to dismantle the ancient Hindu social hierarchy.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment made the proposal yesterday amid a growing controversy over plans to expand quotas for lower-caste students at schools and universities.
The scheme is already under attack, with conservatives saying it will trigger social chaos and liberals arguing that few will accept the offer — and fewer will receive the funds.
The proposed bonus is a small fortune in a country where average annual income per capita is £280, and where official corruption is rampant.
Full Article : timesonline.co.uk
By Michael De Gale
Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, we live in a society where race, unfortunately, is an increasingly divisive issue. Whether we inherited this from our colonial past or we are just too damn stupid to appreciate its negative impact on the society as a whole, the fact remains that race is a cause for much concern in T&T. It is because of this that the recently created Congress of the People must do everything in its power not to be perceived as an “Indian Party” if it hopes to wrestles the reigns of power from the current administration.
Continue reading A Party For And Of The People
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
September 13, 2006
Thesis
One of the most revered and nationally accepted, but Eurocentric, ahistorical, divisive and dysfunctional adages is the 31st August 1962 Inaugural Independence Message by then Prime Minister and historian Dr. Eric Williams, in part as follows:
“There can be no Mother India, for those whose ancestors came from India, there can be no Mother Africa, for those of African origin, and there can be no Mother Syria or no Mother Lebanon. A nation, like an individual, can have only one mother. The only mother we recognize is Mother T&T and mother cannot discriminate between her children.” (Guardian, 31 August 2006).
Continue reading Originality vs Nationality in TnT: Facing Historical Reality
By Raffique Shah
If there was any surprise over last Thursday’s transatlantic airline crisis it was that British security forces, working in collaboration with Pakistan’s, managed to pre-empt what could have been a disaster of immense proportions. But sadly for the millions who must travel by air every day, and who have nothing to do with the root causes of a would-be mass mid-air murder, the risks have not diminished. George Bush, who has taken the world to the edge of disaster, is still around-will be for another two years-to peddle his devious non-strategies.
Continue reading Blame Bush, not Bin Laden
By Linda Edwards
This project, now completed at the Russell Latapy Secondary School on July 17 to 28, aimed at providing additional reading support services for children in the under-served areas of Morvant/Laventille, who were identified by their sending schools as being less advanced than their peers. In some cases, they could hardly read.
Continue reading A Small Beginning: The UCIBIDES reading project
By Terry Joseph
Although commanding an incalculably large viewing audience, MTV hasn’t made proportionate contribution to the sum of human dignity it met at first airing 25 years ago, except there is value hidden somewhere in the dehumanisation of black youth.
Globally famous as the ultimate party source, the station quietly marked its silver anniversary, which fell on Emancipation Day, perhaps fearing increased attention to the role it plays in enslaving black youth, who now refer to each other as “pimp” and “bitch” rather than “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” as was the language of their forbears in the pre-MTV era.
Continue reading Dehumanising our youth