Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from March, 2009
Cuba: Antúnez Surrounded
Uncommon Sense and Octavo Cerco share their thoughts on reports that the Cuban police “have surrounded the home of Cuban dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), who for more than a month has [led] a hunger strike to protest abuses by the Castro dictatorship.”
Guadeloupe: Happy 70th!
Repeating Islands Blog sends greetings to Guadeloupean novelist Myriam Warner-Vieyra on her 70th birthday.
Cuba: Detainees Freed
The previously detained Cuban photographer and musician have been released – Sunrise in Havana has the details.
Jamaica: Lessons from the By-Election
Abeng News Magazine asks of the results of the recent by-election in West Portland: “What does it tell us about where things currently stand in Jamaica, if this constituency can be viewed as a microcosm of the Jamaican body politic?”, adding, “It’s high time this dual citizenship issue is seriously...
Guyana: Don't Get Fooled Again
Guyana-Gyal blogs about Allen Stanford, issuing this piece of advice she learned from a friend: “Beware of those with sugar-tongue and oily lips.”
Barbados: Suspect Arrested
Barbados Free Press and Bajan Dream Diary both blog about the recent arrest of a suspect in the Terry Schwarzfeld murder.
Trinidad & Tobago: Pompoms
“I thought for a second I was hallucinating. Like I think I’m hallucinating when I hear some wild rumour that Papa Patos wants to invoke the Terrorism Act during the Summit of the Americas to stop people from protesting. I mean it can’t be, can it? Cheerleaders in cricket? Why,...
Cuba: Reports of Detainment
Both Uncommon Sense and Sunrise in Havana blog about reports that a photographer and a musician have been detained in Cuba “after offering their show of solidarity in Placetas for political activist Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez).”
Trinidad & Tobago: A World of Orchids
From Trinidad and Tobago, My Chutney Garden says: “Orchid growing is not for the fainthearted.”
Cuba: The Black Cuban Woman
Havana Times republishes a mainstream media news article on a black, female Cuban blogger who writes about gender, sexual diversity and racism.
Jamaica: Election Example
As the West Portland by-election is settled, Girl With a Purpose says: “What should be noted…is that this by-election went through without incident…the majority of Jamaicans are tired of the crime and violence in general, but especially at election time.”
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Don't Worry, Be Happy
“When a really uptight person marries another who is way laidback, we who attend the wedding always make the optimistic assumption that the uptight person will learn to relax a little bit – but it often pans out the other way around”: Barbados-based B.C. Pires thinks that “on that basis,...
Trinidad & Tobago: Meaningful Art
Trin (Surviving Life in Trinidad and Tobago) is of the opinion that “while Fay Anne and other Carnival artists deserve a prize for their contributions, that prize should not be so large that it prevents the Ministry from being able to fund a balanced cross-section of artists who represent our...
Haiti, U.S.A.: Temporary Protected Status
As U.S. President Obama grants Temporary Protected Status to Liberians, jmc strategies asks: “What about the Haitians?”
St. Lucia: Visiting Gros Islet
Repeating Islands’ Blog visits St. Lucia and discovers that “the fishing village of Gros Islet – the principal setting for Derek Walcott’s Omeros – seems serenely frozen in time.”
Cuba: Three Strikes
“The president of the Writers and Artists Union of Cuba…affirmed that all Cubans can travel, except those who have a debt to the justice system…I have never been charged in court yet I am condemned not to leave this Island”: Generation Y‘s exit permit has once again been denied.
Barbados: BNB & CLICO
Living in Barbados republishes a piece by a Bajan economist which suggests that the government's repurchasing of the Barbados National Bank may not be the best solution to the CLICO situation.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Savannah
From Trinidad and Tobago, Haveworld takes a stroll around the Queen's Park Savannah – and he has the photos to prove it.
Barbados: Impact on Tourism
“Although we applaud the current Minister of Tourism…for taking the bold step to restructure the Barbados Tourism Authority Board, what purpose will it serve if we have a tarnished brand to sell?”: Barbados Underground is concerned about the future of the island's tourism sector.
Bermuda: It's a Secret
“Every major government that I can think of publishes its accounting, auditing, and contracting standards. Why is Bermuda hiding behind a bureaucratic wall? You can’t have accountability if the rules themselves are held secret!”: Vexed Bermoothes wonders “if Government [is] really serious about Public Access to Information.”
Jamaica: The Red Earth
“The fact that a rich natural resource can be a curse on a country has rung true everywhere – whether it’s oil in Nigeria, cobalt in Congo or in fact bauxite in Jamaica”: Jamaica Salt blogs about the long-term cost of mining aluminium ore on the island.
