Tag Archives: Abuse

General T&T, Oil and Gas, PNM, Politics, Recession, UNC

Greed is killing us not so softly

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By Raffique Shah
October 16, 2019

Raffique ShahSome day last week, after I had eaten a very modest lunch, I was snacking on a few locally-manufactured crackers when my wife asked, “You still hungry, nah?” She has noted with unnecessary concern that I eat smaller portions, which I attribute to ageing and my now mostly sedentary lifestyle, the latter imposed on me by my infirmity. I don’t need calories that I won’t burn as I did during my very active pre-Parkinson’s life. That reality notwithstanding, the urge to snack on junk remains undiminished, much to my dismay.
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Crime in T&T, Elections, Oil and Gas, Parliament, PNM, Politics, Recession, UNC

Budget biggest ‘bag’ thieves lay their hands on

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By Raffique Shah
October 07, 2019

Raffique ShahIt is a newspaper commentator’s dilemma—having to write on the Finance Minister’s annual budget presentation, as readers expect him to, both before and after the Appropriation Bill is laid in Parliament. This becomes even more challenging when the package covers the year leading to a general election when the Government, and here I mean any government, engages in distributing largesse like the proverbial “parsad” at “pujas”, throwing goodies at the electorate with the expectation that they will yield votes.
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Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Politics, Violence

Sedition and other Nonsensical Colonial Laws

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By Dr Tye Salandy
September 22, 2019

Dr Tye SalandyAs I mentioned in the first article in this three part series, the Sedition Act is not archaic or outdated, but it was an extremely bad law in the first place given its deliberate vagueness, its colonial intentions and the way that it was weaponized against those who resisted the brutal British empire. Critiquing the bill using words such as outdated and archaic gives the impression that it once was a good law, and it is just the passage of time that makes it problematic in the present time. Nothing could be further from the truth, as from its creation in Trinidad and Tobago, the sedition law was a tool of the colonial elite that was used against the public interest.
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General T&T, Racism Watch

Racism—last refuge of a scoundrel

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By Raffique Shah
September 09, 2019

Raffique ShahWhat possessed United National Congress leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to unleash a loose cannon in the form of ex-soldier Carlton Dennie on an unsuspecting audience of party faithful a few Monday nights ago, we may never know.

Surely she could not have known beforehand that the corporal, who had somehow been elevated to head the intelligence arm of the Strategic Services Agency, was about to cast a giant-but-crooked shadow over her beleaguered UNC that seems to be locked in battle with the incumbent People’s National Movement to lose the next general election.
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corruption, Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC

Least of the looters

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By Raffique Shah
August 20, 2019

Raffique ShahIf the arrest of ex-Minister Marlene McDonald, and her indictment on fraud and misbehaviour in public office charges did anything for the morale of citizens, it was to restore confidence in some investigative units of the Police Service, and underscore the independence of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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Crime in T&T, PNM, UNC

Media trapped by trivia

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By Raffique Shah
December 19, 2018

Raffique ShahFor a country that is beset by myriad fundamental problems—real, imagined or contrived—it is amazing how easily the entire nation can be distracted by trivia.

Almost as side issues in the media, two senior politicians square off over what percentage of employed persons earn less than $6,000 per month, the benchmark for bare survival; hardly mentioned are the 10,000 or so workers who have been thrown on the breadline for the year. The national debt rises higher than Mt Cerro del Aripo; the murder toll crosses 500; and potholes on our roads exceed properly-paved driving surfaces, are all relegated to lower-ranked media attention.
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General T&T, International, Israel, Law, Murder, Palestine, Politics, USA

As Israel murder Palestinians, where are we?

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By Danielle Frederick
May 22, 2018

Israel killsOne would have hoped that a nation such as ours, created from genocide and enslavement, one which has felt the destructive, manipulative forces of colonialism would want to raise its voice clearly against war, oppression, exploitation of human beings and anything that threatens humanity. Alas not. The Trinidad and Tobago government has failed to issue any statement, whether in support or condemnation with regards to the actions of Israel against Palestinians. Being the descendants and continuing victims of white, male, Christian dominance and violence, it is hoped that we would come to our senses and stand for truth and justice, the foundation blocks upon which tyranny cannot stand.
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Caribbean, England, General T&T, International, Law, Media, Sex

Britain: Theresa May ‘Deeply Regrets’ Anti-gay Colonial Laws

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By teleSUR
April 17, 2018 – telesurtv.net

Theresa May British Prime Minister Theresa May said, “nobody should face persecution or discrimination because of who they are or who they love.”

Only days after Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court repealed the country’s sodomy laws, arguing that they were unconsitituional, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May said she “deeply regrets” Britain’s historical legacy of colonialism which imposed anti-gay laws throughout the Commonwealth.
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General T&T, Labour, PNM, Politics, Sex

Darryl Smith Fired by Rowley

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The statement from the Office of the Prime Minister

Darryl SmithToday, (April 10, 2018) Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley advised Her Excellency Paula-Mae Weekes, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in keeping with the provision of Section 3(9) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, to revoke the appointment of Mr Darryl Smith as Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

This following a meeting between the Prime Minister, the Minister of Planning and Development, the Honourable Camille Robinson-Regis and Mr Smith during which new information came to the attention of the Prime Minister.
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Crime in T&T, Domestic Violence, General T&T, Murder, Violence

La Brea massacre suspect captured

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La Brea massacre suspect captured
The TTPS tweeted: “The suspect in the gruesome murders of four people on Tuesday at Sobo Village, La Brea, is held at around 9:10 a.m. (18.03.18) walking along a roadway leading out of St Albans Quarry, located 200 metres off the Valencia Stretch.”

BONE-CHILLING. Blood-curdling. Horrific.

Newsday Editorial
March 16, 2018 – newsday.co.tt

ViolenceMere days after the commemoration of International Women’s Day, the nation is now coming to terms with a crime the nature of which sets a new low in our country.

Yet again, the case involves reports of a jilted lover — a man who felt the gruesome massacre of innocent people was a just reward for being rejected by a woman.
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