Barbados, General T&T, Oil and Gas

Reckless with our National Interests in Barbados

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By Stephen Kangal
February 19, 2020

Stephen KangalIt was a catastrophic national disgrace in 2003 when former Prime Minister Patrick Manning allowed former Bajan PM Owen Arthur to unilaterally haul T&T before an International Tribunal that adjudicated on and established our bilateral EEZ maritime boundary. In the process the Tribunal ignored compelling legal precedent and allocated almost half of our legitimate and previously claimed maritime space to the exclusive jurisdiction and expanded maritime patrimony of Barbados in perpetuity.
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Carnival, Culture, General T&T, Racism Watch

Puttin’ Yo Self in People Mouth

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 18, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeJudith Reyes is my neighbor. Our parents lived in the same spot for over eighty years. Neighbors thought our mothers were sisters. Judith’s brother Giles and I live like brothers. We have never quarreled with each other.

Every morning when I am in Trinidad Judith sends me a cup of porridge with prunes in it. She makes it clear that she is not doing that for me. Rather, she is doing this for my mother who she reminds me was my protector. She says: “Yo’ know how much candles yo’ mother light for you at Mt. St. Benedict?”
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Carnival, Carnival, Crime in T&T, Culture, General T&T

Pan Potential

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By Raffique Shah
February 17, 2020

Raffique ShahAs I savour some of the best offerings from this year’s Carnival from the comfort and safety of my home, I cannot help but think of the thousands of performers and revellers out there who, even as they immerse themselves in the gaiety of the festival, must ponder the possibilities that they might become victims of some criminal act before the day or night is over.
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General T&T, USA

Biden’s Dilemma

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 10, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Monday night I tuned into CNN to listen to the results of the Democratic caucus that had taken place in Iowa earlier in the day. By one am on Tuesday morning the Iowa Democratic Party (I.D.P.) had issued no results although some of the candidates made their speeches and headed off to New Hampshire to continue their quest to become the Democratic presidential nominee for the 2020 election.
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Finance, General T&T

First Citizens, second citizens

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By Raffique Shah
February 10, 2020

Raffique ShahThe recent announcement that the T&T Securities and Exchange Commission and Bourse Securities, Hassan Rahaman and Imtiaz Rahaman have reached an agreement whereby the latter three parties will pay the SEC $2.8 million pertaining to Hassan’s purchase of 659,588 shares of First Citizens Bank during the July 2013 Initial Public Offering, prompted me to speak out on a related matter.
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General T&T, Hinduism, Racism Watch, Religion

Makeda Darius crowned NWAC National Calypso Queen

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Makeda Darius’ response, in song, to Prof Selwyn Cudjoe’s claim that the late Sat Maharaj reminded him of US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, earned her the National Women Action Committee’s (NWAC) National Calypso Queen crown. Her piece was entitled, No Martin.
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General T&T, Religion

Blessed Are They Who Hunger after Righteousness

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 04, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA few weeks ago I wrote about the presence of money in our churches. Rev. Henry Richards of St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Tacarigua, absconded with over $1,000,000 in the 1880s whereas Pastor Vinworth Anthony Dayal, pastor of the Third Exodus Assembly Church in Longdenville, accumulated about $31 million, the product of 19 years of tithes. As we contemplate these excesses, we must remember there are better exemplars of God’s words and how His blessing manifests itself to believers.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, PNM, Politics

Robbing Hoods

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By Raffique Shah
February 03, 2020

Raffique ShahAs we battle against the crime-plague that is devastating the country, and we in the media add our two-cents’ input to what should be considered a national discussion on the issue, I was jolted by an intervention from well-respected commentator Ira Mathur that turned up in my email inbox last weekend. Ira wrote that a “bomb” landed in her smart-phone in the form of a report on gang violence in Trinidad and Tobago by a researcher named Janina Pawelz of the Institute for Peace, Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Germany.
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Crime in T&T, Domestic Violence, General T&T, PNM, Politics, Violence

Who is without blame?

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 27, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIF one ever believed the PNM Government could solve the present crime epidemic in the country, one had better think again.

It is unlikely to do so for the simple reason that neither our Prime Minister nor Minister of National Security seems to understand the magnitude of the challenges that face our civilisation or way of life.
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Elections, General T&T, PNM, Politics

A Foolish Dog

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 21, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast Sunday Jeralean John, one of the most dynamic persons to enter the political arena in the last year, invited me to visit Savannah Park, Waller Field, or what is known as “Gaza.” I eagerly accepted the invitation, excited at the possibility of hearing what ordinary people—although people are never ordinary—had to say about the conditions under which they live.
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