Stories from Quick Reads and Trinidad & Tobago
Predictions for an Opposition Party Win in Trinidad & Tobago's General Elections
By midnight Trinidad and Tobago time, the country should know which political party will form its next government. As predicted, it has been a tight race — out of just over a million eligible voters, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has thus far tallied over 400,000 votes. Many seats...
“Where de Lizard?” Why the Caribbean is Fascinated with Them
These little creatures have different meanings in other cultures. Ancient Romans believed that the lizard symbolized death and resurrection, because it sleeps during winter and reawakens in Spring. For the Greeks and Egyptians, the lizard represented divine wisdom and good fortune. In the Caribbean, lizards have special significance as well....
FIFA Elections Are in Progress
Despite the recent arrests of FIFA officials due to indictments laid by the US Department of Justice, the world football governing body has said that its elections, which it calls the 65th FIFA Congress, will continue as scheduled today. Current FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who headed the organisation while the...
Misbehaviour Trumps Murder in Trinidad & Tobago Headlines
While Trinidad and Tobago is in the midst of political woes and police try to determine the identity of the country's latest murder victim, at least one blogger thinks that mainstream media is doing its level best to ignore these pressing issues and capitalise on the pre-Carnival frenzy. (Trinidad and...
Trinidad & Tobago: Am Gay; Will Travel
What is it like to be gay in the Caribbean? The Travelling Trini occasionally gets emails from young gay Trinidadians who “have the burning desire to go abroad, travel, and see the world”. She deduces that this wanderlust stems from the fact that “the Caribbean is a incredibly homophobic place...
10 Things to Love About Trinidad & Tobago Carnival
One committed Carnival blogger recounts the ten things she loves most about Trinidad and Tobago Carnival - the event that many feel is "the greatest show on earth".
Still No Arrests in Case of Murdered Trinidad Attorney
After one national newspaper published the contents of murdered Trinidadian attorney Dana Seetahal‘s will, public relations expert and blogger Denise Demming is more concerned that five months later, no-one has been arrested: As the days pass and the likelihood of laying charges against the perpetrators of this crime recedes, I...
Against Her Will – Trinidad Newspaper Publishes Details of Slain Attorney's Estate
Today's lead story in one of Trinidad and Tobago's most popular newspapers was the contents of slain Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal's will. Seetahal was gunned down five months ago in Port of Spain; no one has yet been arrested for her murder. The blog Wired 868 could not understand the...
Will Trinidad & Tobago's Government “Listen, Learn & Lead”?
Blogger and public relations professional Dennise Demming is disillusioned with Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who claims to “listen, learn and lead”, but then takes action to the contrary. Demming first cited the example of the country's recent Constitutional Amendment Bill, with which, “despite popular objection, the Government...
Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger Appeals to Domestic Violence Victims After Seeing Rice Viral Video
Once the video of Ray Rice (the American football player for the Baltimore Ravens) hitting his wife went viral, Trinidadian diaspora blogger Afrobella couldn't get the incident out of her mind. “The video where he spits and hits the woman who would go on to be his wife, where he...
Why One Trinidadian Father Will Never Hit His Kids
Corporal punishment has, for a long time, been ingrained into the fabric of Caribbean societies, with some making the connection between the region's harsh colonial history and its modern day bent towards violence. In many cases, the recipients of such beatings are the most defenseless members of society – children....
Trinidadians Concerned Over “Largest Ever Budget”
As the Trinidad and Tobago government, in anticipation of national elections next year, serves up a massive budget, two political bloggers take the country's leaders to task. Afra Raymond, whose blog keeps a close eye on politics, corruption and transparency, provided some disturbing financial context: The Minister of Finance has...
Trinidad & Tobago Needs to Pass the Public Procurement Bill
Trinidad and Tobago's Finance Minister yesterday delivered what many are calling a “welfare budget”, but prior to its unveiling in Parliament, blogger Afra Raymond had hoped that “a more restrained approach might be taken.” In examining the country's national budgets since 2005, Raymond found it telling that “many of the...
Fashion Trends in Trinidad's Capital
The way people dress offers a glimpse into the culture of a place; Maya Cozier manages to capture the urban vibe of Trinidad's capital city in a short video which interviews several fashion forward young people who live and work in and around Port of Spain. Blogger Ceola Belix is...
Trinidad & Tobago: Back-to-School Apps
ICT Pulse shares 5 useful apps for staying organised once school starts.
Ferguson Evocative of Civil Rights Movement, Says Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger
What’s happened – and what is HAPPENING in Ferguson makes my heart hurt. The ache won’t go away. The anger won’t go away. We’re witnessing history in the making, and history repeating itself. What will be the lessons we learn this time? What scars will we bear? Trinidadian diaspora blogger...
Trinidad & Tobago: Is Education Really About Learning?
Why, oh why, did I fail what is clearly a basic english class? The easy answer – I didn’t try hard enough […] The more complicated answer lies in a system so rigid that I am required to take freshman english despite all proof and indications to the contrary. Trinidad...
Caribbean Court of Justice Mired in Controversy
Barbados Free Press says that few people realise “that the vaunted Caribbean Court of Justice carries no actual power or authority”, partly because compliance with the court's decisions is apparently voluntary. Comparing the institution to a toothless bulldog, the post went on to provide links to reports on several incidents...
5 Things One Blogger Thinks You Should Know About People of African Descent in Trinidad & Tobago
We have evidence in our culture, historical facts, which show how the African experience in the Caribbean has helped define our landscape and spirit. In honour of emancipation, Amilcar Sanatan shares five things about Afro-Trinbagonians you never knew: they are not a monolith, they don't all vote along ethnic lines,...
Trinidad & Tobago's Minister of Sport Resigns Under Duress
Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Sport has been forced to resign following public dissatisfaction surrounding the corrupt LifeSport programme, in which millions of dollars were allegedly funneled out to fund criminal activities and contractors were reportedly paid huge sums of money without actually doing any work. Wired868 republishes the full...
Massive Amounts Paid Out in Trinidad & Tobago's LifeSport Programme
As more details come out about the corrupt LifeSport programme in Trinidad and Tobago, Wired868 focuses its satirical energies on Adolphus Daniell, a contractor who was reportedly paid TT$34 million (just under US$5.5 million) for doing nothing – and says he won't pay back the money: The people now under...
