A taste of the Caribbean blogosphere

Barbados
Titlayo's view of noted Barbadian poet Edward Kamau Braithwaite “as some sort of iconic academic abstract figure” is altered by the poet's accounts of his fight to hold on to his house and land.

Belize
Manolo Romero reports that “celebrated Belizean writer” John Walter is doing well after undergoing surgery in Cuba and that two government ministers who were dismissed last year from the Cabinet of prime minister Said Musa have been re-appointed ahead of the March 2006 city council and town board elections. Expat blogger Andy Hunt writes about being featured in a UK Guardian article entitled “Retired Footballers’ Strangest Jobs”.

Bermuda
The Limey is his usual garrulous self, summarizing, critiquing and noting omissions in the 2005 Throne Speech (Bermuda's equivalent of the Queen's Speech, delivered at the opening of Parliament), defending teachers against accusations of dishonesty, and pointing out the limitations of the government's new dictate that 10% of the music played on Bermudian radio stations should be from local artists. Christian S. Dunleavy also points out several instances of “hypocrisy” on the part of the government.

Guyana
Guyana-Gyal posts several entertaining entries written, as usual, in the form of short narratives in the local vernacular, on topics ranging from “hammock days” to hollow gold bangles. VSO worker Michiyo (posting in English with Japanese translation–or vice versa) is off to remote Region 1 in the far western part of Guyana to consult with teachers, and writes belatedly about last week's Diwali celebrations, along with an interesting photo of a distinctively Guyanese Diwali float. The Voice of Guyana International radio station wants your poetry and links to an article about the popularity of Cuba's eye surgery programme in the Caribbean. M'lilwana reproduces an article on the ethos of Guyana's early “freedmen” (freed slaves).


Haiti
Spanish language blogger/photoblogger Baturrico posts a photo of the market in the Haitian city of Cap-Haïtien, noting that in spite of its relative lack of amenities and visual appeal, the markets is a major hub and that it was there that French film Charles Najman met the man on whom he based the central character in the film Royal Bonbon.

Jamaica
Kingston Girl is disappointed that the National Youth Parliament seems to be replicating the patterns of the “adult” parliament and braves long lines at the gas station following the announcement of a gas strike; Scratchie gives the reasons for the strike here. CoolDestiny gets caught in a traffic jam caused by the funeral procession of “some area leader or don or gun man” and wonders “what has happened to the respect of the dead?”.

St. Lucia
Following the governor of Alabama's call for a boycott of Aruba in response to the Aruban authorities’ alleged lack of responsiveness in the Natalee Holloway case, Dorna “[asks] the question so many are afraid to voice”.

St. Vincent & Grenadines
Caribbean bloggers meet in SVG! Abeni has a chance to chat with Jamaican blogger Dr. D on the latter's visit to St. Vincent for a conference, but can't wait for the election season to end on December 7.

Trinidad and Tobago
The big news out of T&T last night, mentioned by both Taran Rampersad (here and here) and Caribbean Free Radio, concerns the raiding of the compound of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, the group responsible for the attempted coup in 1990, following the arrest of their leader Yasin Abu Bakr on sedition charges. Taran also posts about the Guyana-born winner of the 2004 IBM Master Inventor Award, raising the issue of “patents and developing nations”. Richard Bolai reports on a panel on Arts Criticism which took place earlier this year and posts a brief review of an exhibition by artist Tessa Alexander. Christopher at Subway Chronicles wonders what it means to be “half-Chinese, half-black”, and questions of identity also preoccupy Nicholas Laughlin as he muses on a talk given by artist Rachel Rochford. Like most of her compatriots, Washington-based Sweet Trini is looking forward to the T&T v. Bahrain World Cup 2006 qualifier match this coming Saturday. Jacqueline Morris says the UN is not a threat to the internet. Richard Jobity excerpts the results of a survey on e-commerce usage in Trinidad and Tobago. Seldo announces that he has landed a job with Yahoo! Europe.

United States Virgin Islands
Frank Barnako defends the right of some of St. John's’ local characters and establishments to stay put.

Podcasts
Carib World Radio has a podcast feed and Barrio 305 has launched a reggaeton podcast.

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