Stories about Caribbean from February, 2009
Guadeloupe: Where is it exactly?
French West Indian blogger Fwiyapin questions the way in which traditional French media are dealing with the Guadeloupean crisis – images of Guadeloupe and Madagascar mixed up on ITélé, or Guadeloupe suddenly being located in the Asia-Pacific column, in LeMonde.fr.
Guadeloupe, Corsica: Same situation? Same claims?
Martinican blogde[moi] ponders on the possible extension of the French West Indian conflict to the French island of Corsica, following the analysis of a Corsican blogger.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Change? Really?
“He has taken several steps back from the openness he once showed, the willingness to talk to anyone without preconditions. He proposes to send 17,000 more troops into Afghanistan…dampening down one war only to refuel another”: Notes from Port of Spain is “still cynical about Barack Obama.”
Barbados: Hotel Construction Stopped
Barbados Free Press and Gallimaufry report that construction has stopped on the Four Seasons Hotel project, which does not auger well for the island's economy.
Bahamas: Say “No” to Violence vs. Women
“One in three women on this side of the world will experience violence in her lifetime”: Womanish Words says that the woman’s right to live a life free of violence will only become important to the Bahamian government “when we demand it.”
Bermuda: Budget Day
Vexed Bermoothes has been following the Bermuda's budget presentation and says: “It doesn’t seem so far to be a change from ‘business as usual'”.
Jamaica: The Power of Words
“Everybody who has felt the need to prove their Jamaican-ness has said it: gays and lesbians ought to be expelled from the national body…”: Long Bench has had enough of that kind of talk, saying, “maybe we are ready to start acting like we live in a democracy, where every...
Caribbean, USA: Where in the World is Allen Stanford?
It's one thing for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to lay fraud charges against Texas billionaire-cum-Caribbean cricket magnate Allen Stanford - but first, authorities have to find him. As panicky investors flock to Stanford-owned banks from Antigua to South America to try and withdraw their funds, speculation is rife as to where Mr. Stanford might be.
Trinidad & Tobago: Ready for Carnival
Caribbean Free Radio posts the final installment in the cut + clear Carnival podcast series, as the team visits with photographer Jeffrey Chock to discuss the Carnival experience.
Bermuda: Balancing the Budget
In anticipation of Bermuda's Budget Day tomorrow, Vexed Bermoothes says: “Government needs to show prudence, while stoking the rapidly eroding economy, while revealing where it’s going to get the cash.”
Aruba: Putting on the Ritz-Carlton?
The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is apparently in Aruba to stay, causing Lost in Smallness to exclaim: “Does the government realize that this will put extra pressure on our infrastructure? Oh wait. It's an election year. This is just a campaign stunt, not necessarily something to improve the island.”
Caribbean, USA: Stanford Charged with Fraud
Fresh on the heels of the latest regional financial meltdown comes another: news that U.S. billionaire Allen Stanford has been slapped with charges for investment fraud - more than 8 billion dollars' worth. The potential fallout for West Indies cricket appears to be concerning Caribbean bloggers as much as the economic ramifications.
Trinidad & Tobago: Taking Responsibility
What really sticks in Trinidadian blogger Coffeewallah‘s craw when it comes to the CL Financial fiasco, is: “At the head of this debacle, someone who has taken no responsibility at all. Someone who is basically being left with his personal wealth intact while the taxpayer via Government intervention is bailing...
Trinidad & Tobago: Eyes Wide Shut
Although Slacker says that Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an intrinsic part of him, he cannot, in all good conscience, participate in the national festival: “Not when the murder toll as at yesterday stood at 84…a rate of 1.75 a day; not when press freedom and freedom of expression is...
Trinidad & Tobago: Facing Down Facebook
“While I have a tendency to be critical of social networks and the companies that run them, it appears Facebook – at the least – is listening”: Trinidadian blogger Taran Rampersad is back on Facebook after learning that its Terms of Service have been changed back to what they were...
Caribbean: Economic Effects
Keith in Trinidad says that “it is troubling that we seem so oblivious to the meltdown that's occurring” in Martinique and Guadeloupe, while Living Guyana cites the many examples of regional economic discord to add weight to his question of whether “Guyana's tenuous economy will be negatively affected.”
Jamaica, Spain: Considering the Environment
As the King and Queen of Spain visit Jamaica, Snailwriter is concerned about what an alliance between the two countries could mean for the environment: “‘Spanish hotels have become part of the geography of Jamaica and they are here to stay.’ And that is the tragedy. When the economic downturn...
Guadeloupe: Escalating tensions lead to violence
After weeks of largely peaceful protests in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, things took a violent turn on Monday, as police and demonstrators clashed in Guadeloupe's largest city, Pointe-à-Pitre. Workers are protesting skyrocketing unemployment and the rising costs of basic necessities, many of which are imported from France.
French Caribbean: Strikers Bloggers
Nowadays, no mass movement can ignore the importance of public relations and the social crisis in Martinique and Guadeloupe is no exception, according to Collectif5février [Fr, Martinique] and LKP and Elie Domota [Fr, Guadeloupe].
France, French Caribbean: Mobilization in Paris
It has often been said that l'Ile de France (Paris and its surroundings) is the Fifth French Overseas Department, due to its huge population of French Guianese, Guadeloupeans, Martinicans and Reunionese. In this announcement published by CaribCreoleOne, a group called Continuité LKP [Fr] invites the diaspora to march in Paris...
Caribbean: WICB Woes
Caribbean bloggers continue to be humiliated by the incredible faux pas by the West Indies Cricket Board and are calling for some key figures to resign.
About our Caribbean coverage
