Stories about Caribbean from October, 2008
Frightful Facts or Fantastical Fictions?
This third part of the "Lore, ghosts, demons and frights" series has arrived, and we are looking this time a bit beyond the Latin American borders. With this last installment, we seek out the Chupacabras, stick our heads into Voudou rites, observe examples of exorcism and inquire after a cannibal murderer who has become a Venezuelan legend.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Online Info
“I always tell my friends to be careful what they write in cyberspace. One rule of thumb I use is to ask myself if what I post online I would tell to the world at large. If the answer is no, then I refrain from posting it”: Blogging from St....
Trinidad & Tobago: Building Walls
As the government of Trinidad and Tobago begins construction on a wall they say is part of a beautification project, but which many view as a tactic for hiding the squalor of a disadvantaged community, Attillah Springer says: “Build walls because, yes, this is what the nation needs. More division....
Bermuda: National Pride
FreshieBlog lists a number of reasons he is proud to be Bermudian.
Haiti, U.S.A.: Death Squad Leader Convicted
Both HaitiAnalysis.com and The Haitian Blogger report that a New York court has sentenced former Haitian death squad leader Emmanuel ‘Toto’ Constant to 12 to 37 years in prison for mortgage fraud.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Eye on the Prize
“Let’s compare politics with sports. You’re in the home stretch. A smart athlete – a well-trained one – would keep his eyes on the prize and concentrate on running his own race. But what is McCain doing? Looking over at the other lane, more concerned about the competition than he...
Trinidad & Tobago: The Price of Progress
Maximilian Forte, writing at Review of the Indigenous Caribbean Center, posts a video of Trinidadian calypsonian King Austin's song Progress, which he calls “a critique of the ideology and practice of progress, from the vantage points of environmental unsustainability, exploitation, inequality, and the resultant social strife.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Book of the Week
Caribbean lit-blog Antilles picks as its “Book of the Week” Ian McDonald's Selected Poems, which it describes as “a long-overdue survey of the career of one of the Caribbean's most admired writers.”
Jamaica: Missing Children
YardFlex refers to “some shocking figures that indicate 65 per cent of the 1,112 people reported missing in Jamaica since January 1st 2008 are children.”
Haiti, D.R.: Rediscovering Atlantis?
The Haitian Blogger is a tad sceptical about the scientific theory that Haiti might be “the site of the ‘lost Civilization’ of Atlantis.”
Dominica: State of Affairs
Caribbean Man says that “Dominica isn't a failed state…we are a stagnant state.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Not Adding Up
“Last month the record 2008-9 budget of nearly TT$50 billion was based on an assumed oil price of $75 a barrel. At the time, the price was well above that. A month later, it’s below $64. So even the richest economy in the Caribbean either has to make some serious...
Bermuda: Gambling with the Future?
As the government considers introducing internet gaming to the island, both FreshieBlog and Vexed Bermoothes think that it is a bad idea, saying that it “could taint Bermuda’s reputation as a serious business jurisdiction.”
Jamaica, Guyana: Academic Performance
YardFlex.com is proud that Jamaicans are among the regional high school students being honoured for their outstanding academic performance and encourages them “to continue reaching for the stars.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Divali
Both Haveworld and Trinidad Carnival Diary wish their fellow Trinbagonians a Happy Divali!
Trinidad & Tobago: Crime Watch
“Like any other country, we have a well-laid out and codified set of laws for the populace to follow. Of what good is our law however, when particularly in relation to serious and violent crime, we appear to have little success of apprehending and convicting those who break it?”: Trinbago...
Barbados: MSM & Democracy
Barbados Underground says that “the current fast food diet of journalism being served up by the local media” poses a threat to the country's democracy.
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Race to the White House
“Let's be real… you want him to win because he's black…”: Stories of Me thinks that “it's no coincidence that most of Jamaica supports Obama for President, and wish they could vote. Only a fraction of those ‘supporters’ know much of Obama's policies, or fully understand the impact of an...
Guyana, U.S.A.: Making History?
“We may see in the possibility of America’s first Black president the sign of more tolerant times. We may see in the possibility of this particular Black president the sign of a more genuine concern for global affairs. And we can’t help but be caught up in the positive feel...
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Crisis?
“Perhaps, finally, the scales may be tipping in the masquerader's favour”: Discover T&T Blog examines the potential impact of the global financial crisis on Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Political Differences
Voting on Amendment 8 gets Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp thinking about “the difference between American and Jamaican politics.”
About our Caribbean coverage
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
