Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from May, 2008
Cuba: Incipient Crackdown?
Both Uncommon Sense and Ninety miles away…in another country blog about an incident in which “police and thugs from a ‘rapid response brigade’ swarmed about two dozen people as they marched toward a local cemetery to present a floral wreath honoring the memory of the iconic political prisoner Pedro Luis...
Barbados, U.S.A.: Taking It Back
On the heels of Hillary Clinton's comment about Bobby Kennedy, Barbadian blogger Jdid comments: “You're just playing the spoiler now. It almost looks like you are trying to muddy the waters for your fellow democrat. All I can say is both you and Bill showed a wicked and dirty side...
Jamaica: Gays and Golding
Kadene Porter at Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine analyzes the Prime Minister's controversial BBC interview in which he said that there would be no gays in his Cabinet: “It is rather strange that this single issue has come to define the morals of a people, considering the heinous nature of crimes...
Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica: Chanderpaul's Heroics
West Indies Cricket Blog quotes cricket commentator Tony Cozier on Shivnarine Chanderpaul's “heroics” vs. Australia, adding: “The energy from Sabina Park was unbelievable. Really bummed I wasn’t there.”
Cayman Islands: Not Here?
Cayblogger responds to a mainstream media editorial by examining the Cayman Islands’ attitude towards homosexuality and crime: “There have been, what… five murders in Cayman this year to only one ‘gay kiss?’ Which means that we, as a society, are less tolerant of a gay kiss than of a murder.”
Dominica: Banana Spat
Steve's Dominica reports on “the ongoing spat between various banana organisations.”
Bermuda: Debate Shut-Down
As the Bermudian Premier shuts down a Parliamentary debate because of accusations of dishonesty by the Opposition, Vexed Bermoothes says: “By shouting down every question or request for accountability as an accusation of racism or unfairness, the PLP is proving just how immature Bermuda’s democracy is.”
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Calypso Music
Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine gives a lesson in the roots of calypso music.
Jamaica: Literary Feud
Blogging from Jamaica's Calabash Literary Festival, Annie Paul talks about Derek Walcott's poem The Mongoose, “written specifically with V.S. Naipaul in mind”: “Down here at Treasure Beach we give thanks for sunny skies and prickly poets. Willing conscripts in the enactment of a first-class literary feud we await the unfolding...
Barbados: Living in Bim
Callaloo Soup blogs about a few things she forgot about life in Barbados.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Government vs. Party
“Silly me to even think that Governments undesrstood the difference between parties and governments”: St. Vincent and the Grenadines blogger Abeni is seeing red.
Cuba, Bermuda: Who Was Che?
A Radical in Bermuda shares his views on who he thinks Che Guevara was, while Child of the Revolution warns that the director and stars of the new feature film Che “have been happily providing plenty of colourful quotes to the media, along with their own versions of the Che...
Jamaica, Guyana: “Creole Gang”
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Guyanese writer Rooplall Monar.
Haiti: Breaking the Law?
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre shares his thoughts on the philosophy of nonviolence and, in the words of Thoreau, when “it is important for honest men to break the law.”
Anguilla: Culture Shock
“Cultural identity is as equally important as political independence and economic self-sufficiency in the process of nation-building. Cultural development is the bedrock of the creation of a national identity”: Corruption-free Anguilla wonders whether the island has a culture.
Guyana: Looking for Poetry
Signifyin’ Guyana posts a piece by John Agard to illustrate the things to look for in a poem.
Bermuda: Free Press
Vexed Bermoothes says that the ruling party's attacks on the free press are attracting international attention: “The fact is, that despite paying years of lip service to freedom of information, the Bermuda Government is doing little to implement it. Moreover, the PLP is using the offices of Government to punish...
Jamaica: Homophobic Talk?
The Jamaican Prime Minister's comments on BBC‘s HARDTalk programme spur blogger Francis Wade to make a few comments of his own: “Golding…candidly responded that he would not have a gay person in his cabinet. His distaste and contempt seemed palpable to me. I imagined Jamaicans looking on with pride…I imagined...
Guyana: Living Life
News of Guyana-Gyal‘s family and a few presents that they have sent her from abroad cause her to be “simply livin’ and appreciatin’.”
St. Lucia: Effects on Consumers
Blogging from St. Lucia, Looshan Ramblings is concerned about the effect of rising oil prices and the global food crisis on consumers: “We need to know that our leaders are trying their best to put measures that will cushion the fall out from this global food crisis and recession.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Don't Touch My Buddy
Grounding recalls an effective campaign in response to “a surge in racism and racist attacks in France” and wonders: “What would it really be like for us to have a similar campaign here in T & T?”
