Stories from and

Trinidadians Concerned Over “Largest Ever Budget”

  16 September 2014

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

  10 September 2014

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...

The Politics of “Pretty” in Jamaica

  10 September 2014

As Laurie-Ann Chin is crowned this year's Miss Jamaica World – apparently despite the live audience's disapproval – Carolyn Joy Cooper, who blogs at Jamaica Woman Tongue, takes on the ugly underbelly of the country's beauty contests. “If you follow these beauty contests, it’s easy to predict the outcome,” she...

The National Gallery of Jamaica Celebrates 40 Years of Home-Grown Art

  4 September 2014

The National Gallery of Jamaica is in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary and the gallery's blog has been sharing information about its history and accomplishments: When the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) opened its doors on November 14, 1974 it was the English-speaking Caribbean’s first national gallery, and...

Fashion Trends in Trinidad's Capital

  3 September 2014

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...

Is the Caribbean Education System Dumbing Down Kids?

  3 September 2014

As the new school year begins in many Caribbean territories today, blogger Guyana-Gyal, who writes in local parlance, questions the new direction education is taking throughout the region. From the practice of making children tote heavy backpacks instead of simply asking them to bring to class only the books they...

In Defense of the National Gallery of Jamaica's Director

  27 August 2014

Over the last month, the National Gallery of Jamaica's executive director's leadership was the target of criticism, first via an anonymous letter written to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, and then in a blog post written by blogger Annie Paul, which she prefaced by saying: I’ve been closely involved with the...

Bahamian Women Battling for Equal Rights

  21 August 2014

You would think that a nation which spent so much of the 20th century doggedly pursing equality would be united today over equal rights for women to pass on citizenship to their children and spouses. You would think that a constitutional provision to prevent discrimination against more than half the...

Cubans Join Authorised Users of Google Chrome

  21 August 2014

Google Chrome finally becomes “legal” in Cuba and blogger Yoani Sanchez says that she gleans great satisfaction from “knowing that the opinions of citizens interested in the free flow of information and technology influenced the elimination of this prohibition.”

Safety Measures Against Ebola in Cuba

  19 August 2014

Thus far, no-one in Cuba has contracted the deadly Ebola virus and the government wants to keep it that way. Havana Times reports on “increased control measures to prevent the possible introduction of Ebola into Cuba”, adding that The Ministry of Public Health and other supporting agencies are being extra...

Trinidad & Tobago: Is Education Really About Learning?

  16 August 2014

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...

Jamaica: #Ferguson & #Gaza

  15 August 2014

Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul republishes a compilation of tweets that show the similarities between the standoff in #Gaza and in #Ferguson, where yet another unarmed black man was gunned down by the police. The response to the resulting protests by U.S. law enforcement has been so brutal that netizens are...

Defending Human Rights in Jamaica

  15 August 2014

When JFJ [Jamaicans For Justice] began, extra-judicial killings by police were commonplace. Yet, not a single police officer had ever – not in the entire history of Jamaica – been ever held accountable for one of these murders. It was a matter that desperately needed addressing. The death of Mario Deane...

Caribbean Court of Justice Mired in Controversy

  8 August 2014

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...

Trinidad & Tobago's Minister of Sport Resigns Under Duress

  1 August 2014

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...