Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from August, 2010
Trinidad & Tobago: The Game
Underground Trini Artiste posts a video that has been all the rage on Facebook and YouTube, about “people who are stuck in a university for years and just can't leave the lifestyle of girls, parties and liming behind and go into the real world.”
Cuba: Additional Releases
Havana Times reports that another six political prisoners are scheduled to be released.
Bermuda: Facts of Life?
“Our community is more divided- and ANGRY – than in decades…Our economy is a mess…”: Vexed Bermoothes thinks that “no spin can override these facts. In my opinion, Dr. Brown is a failed leader whose tenure has been a disaster for Bermuda.”
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Remembering Andrew
Eighteen years after Hurricane Andrew wreaked havoc on Florida, diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp posts a poem he wrote about the experience.
Cuba: Blogger Arrested
Uncommon Sense and Blog for Cuba report on the arrest of blogger Luis Felipe Rojas Rosabal, with the former saying that the authorities are “especially persistent with its repression towards the more accomplished chroniclers of the reality of life in Cuba today.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Unique Deal
Afra Raymond says that comparing the CL Financial bailout to the US situation is “nothing less than public mischief”: “The only resemblance to the US bailout is in name only. Real Trini-ting. Duprey and his cohorts negotiated a Blank-Cheque Bailout at zero interest, without losing any of their assets. That...
Jamaica: Policing Style
Jamaica Salt says the kill-or-be-killed approach to controlling crime is ineffective: “When things are tough it’s hard not to look at possible solutions like this. But this has been a style of policing in Jamaica for decades now and it is not working. The murder rates speak for themselves.”
Barbados: CARICOM Pappyshow?
As the Secretary General of CARICOM takes his leave, B.C. Pires is more convinced than ever that “the whole enterprise is one big pappy-show, an elaborate skulls that mocks integration of a people while enriching the lifestyles of a few persons…”
Haiti: Beauty & Controversy
As controversy swirls around Haiti's representative for the 2010 Miss Universe beauty pageant, The Haitian Blogger says: “The assassination of Miss Haiti's mother was a terrible tragedy. Unfortunately the sad event is being used by many to demonize Haiti's first real democratically elected government and the Lavalas political party.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Haiti: Access Denied
Abeni has been following Wyclef Jean's bid for the Haitian presidency and says: “Now that Wyclef's candidacy has been stalled…maybe Wyclef's next bid should be ensuring that the media continues to shine a light on the Haitian situation.”
Cuba: Empty or Full?
“The truth is the rules of democracy and human rights agreements are instruments against which the government in Havana holds grudges”: Iván's File Cabinet wouldn't be surprised if Cuban prisons were to be filled once again.
Barbados: Paper Trail?
As a police raid in Trinidad and Tobago reveals alleged illegal activity at a deceased contractor's house, Barbados Free Press “want[s] to know…if the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau found any paperwork relating to Karamath’s connections to the Barbados politicians and officials who awarded him big government contracts here.”
Haiti: Student Visas
The Caribbean Camera reports that the Haitian community is concerned about the relatively low number of Canadian student visas being granted since the January 12 earthquake, saying: “This problem comes just as Haiti needs international education as much as investment to get back on its feet.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Big River
My Chutney Garden visits Grande Riviere, “a small fishing village that is best known for attracting nesting leatherback turtles.”
Cuba: Youth in Prison
Iván's File Cabinet blogs about the majority of “common (non-political) prisoners in Cuba [being] black or mestizo”, saying: “The environment in which these youths grow up is fertile ground for delinquency. The worst part [is] that the Cuban State doesn’t have a solution for the problem of a society that...
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Thoughts on the Mosque
Jamaican diaspora blogger Dennis Jones weighs in on “the subject of plans to build a mosque near what is called Ground Zero.”
Barbados: How Many More?
“Fortunately no one died in Tuesday’s bus crash in Christ Church but 22 people were injured”: Barbados Free Press thinks it's high time the country introduced breathalyzer laws.
Haiti: Presidential Candidates
Can Wycelf run for President or not? Dessalines’ Children republishes a report which confirms that “Haiti’s electoral board [has] decided to push back to August 20 its release of a final list of presidential candidates…”
Trinidad & Tobago: Fasting
As the end of the first week of Ramadan approaches, Lifespan of a Chennette shares a bit about those all-important meals.
Trinidad & Tobago: Toco Lighthouse
“No trip to Toco is complete without visiting the lighthouse that sits on the north eastern tip of Trinidad”: My Chutney Garden regales us with tales from her journey.
Cuba: Same Old?
As U.S. President Obama prepares to reconsider the travel ban on Cuba, Uncommon Sense says: “Before he does so, he might want to consider the assessment of the three prisoners who were released this week.”
