Latest posts by Alice Backer from October, 2006
Guyane: Too Hot to Cook
Food blog Cafe Creole writes (Fr): “It is very very hot in Guyane right now. We are in the big dry season at least until December 15 … don't feel like eating and even less like cooking. I am sorting my pictures and my documents. ” The blogger then posts...
Tahiti: Google Earth Shots
Tavana Daniel of Tahiti: Litterature is (Fr) happy google earth updated their aerial shots of Tahiti but laments that the picture was not taken on a sunny day. She provides pictures.
New Caledonia: Fete du Boeuf
Says Sebastien Merion from 5 Minutes en Nouvelle Caledonie: J'ai l'impression de revenir direct des States, mais non, ce n'était que le village de Païta et sa fameuse fête du bœuf !! On s'y serait cru, ambiance chapeaux de cow-boy et musique country, il y avait un paquet de monde....
France, Togo: What's the Use of African Book Fairs?
France-based Togolese writer Kangni Alem writes (Fr): ” African literature book fairs in France are, by and large, rarely satisfying. They don't always actually sell your books, they don't feed you right, and worse you have to follow the law of star writers who bore you too death when they...
Haiti: Why Celebrate Dessalines’ Death?
Yon Ayisyen (Fr) laughs at the thought that some in Haiti want to start an investigation into founding father Jean-Jacques Dessalines’ death 200 years after the fact but adds: “However I might sign a petition to ask that we stop celebrating the death of Dessalines. Not that the day off...
Haiti: Commemorating Dessalines
Says AlterPresse, (Fr) “A plethora of activities [conferences, exhibits, ceremonies] … started last weekend to commemorate the bicentennial (October 17, 2006) of the assassination of the founder of the Haitian nation, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. … Members of the Presidential Commission for the Bicentennial invite all to meditate on the work of...
Guyane: School Hitting Controversy
Blada.com is unhappy (Fr) with the Mayor of Cayenne's response to the recent hitting of a child by a school aide. (The mayor issued a decree asking school aides –called ATSEM– not to stay alone with children.) The site believes that that response is against the law and a copout...
Guadeloupe: Celebrating the Nation
Flying in the face of Guadeloupe's status as a French Overseas Department, Convention pour une Guadeloupe Nouvelle writes (Fr): “A nation must live its past in order to be inspired by it. … We will [therefore] celebrate the birth of the Guadeloupean nation in October. It is indeed during the...
Guadeloupe, Trinidad: Young Rotarian Conference
Guadeloupe Attitude writes (Fr): “Patrick Verdol, Livio Lison and Bella Mado are the 3 Guadeloupeans chosen by the seven Guadeloupean Rotary Clubs to participate in the 2006 RYLA of District 7030 … Chosen by the clubs and districts for their potential leadership, youth aged 14 to 30, attend all expenses...
Senegal: Head of Senelec Resigned
Le Blog Politique du Senegal believes (Fr) that the head of national electricity company Senelec was asked to resign because President Wade needs a scapegoat for failing to fulfill his impossible promises. The blog is otherwise skeptical that private capital might do a better job than government spreading electricity in...
Martinique: Remembering a Special Moment
Le Blog de [Moi] thinks back nostalgically (Fr) on a dance with a special woman she met for a couple of minutes in her twenties at a gay dance before the woman returned to her male companion.
Mooziko, the African YouTube
Le Blog de PKJ Agency, a blog that “casts a global look at the African Internet,” weighed the pros and cons of Mooziko, the African YouTube, this week and stirred up some debate in the process. Says the blog: Alors que Youtube vient de se faire racheter pour la modique...
Reunion: Diagonale des Fous
LSZ Blog describes (Fr) La Diagonale des Fous, [Diagonal of the Crazies] an annual hike across the local volcano. He explains that every year “they assemble in a small town in the southeast of the island, with the obsessive idea of reaching the other side of the island as fast...
Reunion: Still Smoking
Pierrot Dupuy laments (Fr) that despite a tactical 30 cent increase in cigarette prices, cigarette consumption in Reunion has not decreased. He concludes: “Since the stated goal of the hike was to lower consumption, we have to admit that the powers that be have failed.”
France, Togo: No Smoking
France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem writes (Fr): “France is going to progressively completely forbid tobacco smoking in public places. Thank God. To say I had no problem with public smoking would be a lie.” Tony, a commentator to the blog responds (Fr): ” In Africa smokers will continue to have...
Mauritius: Local Filmmakers
Christina announces (Fr) La Seance des Jeunes Realisateurs, a show on Mauritian television channel MBC3 that showcases local filmmakers. She writes: “Shorts by Mauritian filmmakers are finally being broadcast nationally. An occasion to see what local films are made of, to consume purely Mauritian fiction and documentary. Of course all...
Rwanda: How To (Not) Get a Driver's License
Guillaume, an ex-pat in Rwanda, describes how he failed a very public driver's license exam (Fr): “It's a 3 hour drive to Nyatare … We had to wait until 3 pm … I pass the reverse driving test without looking in the side mirrors, without stopping. The crowd cheers hysterically.”...
Reunion: 15 minutes of Fame on Global Voices
About Global Voices’ recent article on the Reunion blogosphere, Reunion Permanente writes (Fr):”The event of the year is obviously the 15 minutes of fame of Reunion's blogosphere on the American participative journalism site GlobalVoices: not to be missed.”
DRC: AMP Conference in Belgium
UDPS Liege warns (Fr) that an AMP conference entitled “Elections: Second Round in the Congo” that took place in Belgium today was really a “conference to buy the conscience of diaspora activists”. The blog asked that UDPS sympathizers protest it.
Reunion: Chikungunya Plagiarism
Scientist blogger LSZ Blog complains (Fr) about the widespread non-attributed reproduction of litteral portions of an article he recently posted on his blog about chikungunya fever. His unattributed work has appeared on other websites but also in an article by Reunion colleagues in a scientific print publication. He has written...
Guadeloupe: Telecom Fair
InternetRapide.com explains that at a recent internet and telecom fair in Guadeloupe (Carrefour des Technologies de L'Information et de la Communication, October 5-7), telecom provides competed for consumers’ attention. Now that bandwidth problems have been solved in Guadeloupe, the blogger notes that one of the most interesting new products is...
