Why I will vote UNC
April 12, 2025
By 1959, party politics had taken hold on the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Michael Kangalee (he now calls himself Krishna, his middle name), my schoolmate at Tacarigua EC, supported the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that was led by Bhadase Sagan Maraj. I supported PNM, which was led by Eric Williams. Neither of us could vote but we followed our parents and villagers’ preference in expressing our party allegiances. Undoubtedly, our political position was shaped in part by our racial (not racist) affiliation. Years later, I went to the United States, and Krishna went on to live in Canada via England. Full Article

Young’s leadership, trauma, and the politics of bullying
April 05, 2025
When serving as prime minister, Patrick Manning rendered two insightful judgments on the former Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow. He said: “When he cannot have his way, Mr Speaker, his method is to bully you...We do not tolerate bullying in the secondary school system...The minute you oppose my good friend, he gets very, very angry. And if you oppose him strongly, he becomes a raging bull.” Full Article

Discarded human beings
March 29, 2025
On Tuesday about 1.20 p.m. I went to First Citizens bank in Tunapuna to transact some business. I wanted to find out my balance and the last deposits and withdrawals that I made. I am aware that if I had Internet banking I could have conducted that exercise from the comfort of my home. Full Article

Stuart’s abracadabra moment
March 22, 2025
Last week was an unfortunate one for our democracy. Words were thrown around as though they possessed little meaning. A profound change is taking place in our democracy, but the political elite could not summon the necessary language to capture that moment. Full Article

Cooked coo coo and Obeah obsessions
March 15, 2025
In the end, it comes down to the total miscalculation of a man who talks about responsibility but is averse to planning for the future. He never examines any issue facing the country deeply enough. Now, he insists “our coo coo will be cooked if the Dragon gas deal with Venezuela goes sour”. He even asked his fellow citizens “to send your telepathic power to overcome the negative nonsense about the failure of the Dragon deal”. Full Article

PNM's obtuse rationalisations
March 08, 2025
Blissfully, the Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow will soon relieve us of our miseries. Unfortunately, he leaves his clones behind who know not what they say or do. Chief among them are Faris Al-Rawi, a former attorney general, and Stuart Young, our first unelected prime minister. Full Article

Absolute foolishness
March 01, 2025
"Absolute foolishness." Those were the words the Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow used when he described "the heavy foreign exchange spending on Carnival costumes...He insists that costumes are not investments" (Guardian, February 26). Such statements are "absolute nonsense" and "absolute foolishness" combined in one. Full Article

Serve in order to lead
February 22, 2025
On Saturday last weekend, we celebrated the life of Joseph Sam Phillip, a districker, at the Good Shepherd Anglican Church, Tunapuna, at which Archdeacon Kenly Baldeo, another districker, presided. Good Shepherd, one of the oldest edifices in Tunapuna, was consecrated in 1866. Full Article

Regress rather than progress
February 15, 2025
The community is the source of democracy in Trinidad and Tobago. Recently, there have been many references to its role in solving our problems. On Tuesday Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis declared: "Grassroots sporting groups and programmes must no longer be sacrificed for the sake of national government bodies." She obtained this wisdom seven years after she became the Minister of Sport and Community Development. Full Article

Intentional distraction
February 08, 2025
Nostalgia led me to the People’s National Movement Mani­festo of 1991, the year it defeated the National Alliance for Reconstruction. The PNM returned to government in 1991 but lost power to the United National Congress in 1995. A year later, the Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow challenged Patrick Manning’s leadership and lost. His rise to national prominence began at that point. The Leader will leave the political scene in a few weeks but will retain his influence on his protégé, Stuart Young. Full Article

The Cap of Freedom
February 01, 2025
Lately we have been obsessed about the elimination of colonialism in our society, the coat of arms discussion being the latest manifestation of this obsession. Only a rigorous study of and a confrontation with our historical past (and present) can release us from this debilitating condition. Full Article

UNC’s victory: the necessary antidote to PNM’s revival
January 25, 2025
A United National Congress victory in the forthcoming election is the necessary antidote to heal the fissures that have erupted in the PNM’s political structure. Only a UNC victory can counteract the fiendish act of PNM’s hierarchy of selling the party to the highest financial bidders. This will necessitate that PNM takes a more careful look at itself, especially in the absence of the Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow. Full Article

PNM sells out to the rich January 18, 2025
The People’s National Movement came into being against the backdrop of the representatives of black and brown people who met in Bandung, Indonesia, to oppose colonialism. In 1955, 29 countries representing 1.5 billion people (or 54% of the world’s population) demanded a greater share of the world’s financial resources. Full Article