Stories about Trinidad & Tobago from December, 2006
Trinidad & Tobago: Smeltdown
The Trinidad and Tobago government's decision to re-locate a controversial aluminium smelter project prompts Jeremy Taylor to raise numerous questions about some key development decisions taken by the current administration: “Would we really need a rapid-rail system costing TT$15 billion if a bit more common sense was applied to the...
Trinidad & Tobago: In praise of coconut bake
Trinifood sings the praises of the “simple, unleavened bread” known in Trinidad and Tobago as coconut bake, and posts a recipe.
Trinidad & Tobago: Corporate responsibility initiative
Karel McIntosh reports that a chamber of commerce in Trinidad has become the first indigenous signatory to United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative.
Trinidad, Guyana, South Africa: Book talk
85-year old Guyanese writer Wilson Harris has a new novel and Nobel prize-winning South African novelist Nadine Gordimer's estranged biographer is half-Trinidadian, reports Jeremy Taylor, who also reveals his favourite Caribbean novels of 2006.
Trinidad & Tobago: Trini geography
Chennette has an interesting commentary on the average Trinidadian's skewed vision of cardinal points: “Maybe it was growing up in a mathematical family, but I always viewed Trinidad as more or less a rectangle with some squiggly bits at the corners. Which means that I imagined lines bisecting the island...
Trinidad & Tobago: The smelter moves
As Trinidad and Tobago's caves into the protests against the establishment of an aluminium smelter in a community in south-western Trinidad — and moves the project to another part of the country — Taran Rampersad starts thinking that “it has become necessary to become vocal.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Christmas, credulity and commerce
Jeremy Taylor goes over some of the impossible notions about Christmas we have come to accept as fact, concluding “I take some comfort in the thought that the man at the centre of all the fuss would have dismissed it all, just as he furiously ran the bankers off the...
Bahamas: “Improving” Junkanoo
Nicolette Bethel advises her fellow Bahamians to heed the words of Trinidadian Carnival designer Peter Minshall when considering the “improvement” of Junkanoo, their own national festival.
Trinidad & Tobago: Minshall's Vision
“T&T Carnival has become a celebrity thing and mas’, in its purest sense, is not about celebrity. In fact, it’s the antithesis of it,” writes Francomenz, as she reports on Peter Minshall's vision for the festival.
Anguilla: Convention vs. Corruption
Corruption-free Anguilla republishes an article by Indra Jeet Mistry, which calls for Caribbean governments to sign the UN Convention against Corruption – “the first legally binding, global anti-corruption agreement, marking an historic milestone in the fight against corruption. One year on…in the Caribbean, only Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and...
Trinidad & Tobago: Flickr Photoset
See Trinidad & Tobago from some interesting angles in this Flickr photoset by klj_francis.
Trinidad & Tobago: World Cup Cricket Visa Requirements
“Aussie cricket fans are furious about new visa entry requirements to go to World Cup matches in Antigua, Jamaica and Barbados. It's the first time they have ever needed such visas, and they go at a whopping $128 a piece.” The Caribbean Beat blog wonders about the wisdom of the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Parang in Paramin
Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago is Parang season (from the Spanish Parranda, meaning “the action of merry making” or “group of serenaders”): The Trinidad and Tobago News Blog posts video and pictures from this year's Paramin Parang Festival.
Trinidad & Tobago: Retro BWIA
As Trinidad and Tobago's indigenous airline comes to the end of its life (BWIA will cease operations at the end of the year and reopen on January 1 under a new moniker, Caribbean Airlines), Thebookman refers to a BWIA ad from 1972 and says, “Perhaps in a couple of decades,...
Trinidad & Tobago: The Nutcracker
The Full Belly Project is a non-profit organization that designs and provides simple agricultural machines for people in developing countries: Taran Rampersad thinks it's “probably the best technology use” he's heard of all year.
Trinidad & Tobago: 2006 Murder Rate
Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of National Security has predicted that the 2006 murder rate will not surpass last year's: Manicou shares his thoughts on such daring forecasts.
Trinidad & Tobago: Christmas Cuisine
The Caribbean Beat blog celebrates the diverse tastes of a West Indian Christmas!
Trinidad & Tobago: Rapid Rail to Continue
The Trinidad and Tobago Government intends to proceed with the TT$15 billion rapid rail project, despite calls from several construction industry interest groups for Government to put a halt to the initiative: Juhel Browne posts an update at ttgapers.com.
Trinidad & Tobago: Che Lovelace Exhibition
Thebookmann reviews artist Che Lovelace's Amateur Poster Series exhibition.
Trinidad & Tobago: Manicou's Shorts
Manicou weighs in on Trinidad and Tobago's justice system and the rumoured return of Basdeo Panday as political leader of the opposition UNC party, among other things.
Trinidad & Tobago: A Wonderful Discovery
Elspeth Duncan is thrilled to have discovered a labyrinth on the grounds of a cathedral in downtown Port of Spain.
