Janine Mendes-Franco · December, 2006

Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from December, 2006

Trinidad & Tobago: Rapid Rail to Continue

  14 December 2006

The Trinidad and Tobago Government intends to proceed with the TT$15 billion rapid rail project, despite calls from several construction industry interest groups for Government to put a halt to the initiative: Juhel Browne posts an update at ttgapers.com.

Trinidad & Tobago: Manicou's Shorts

  14 December 2006

Manicou weighs in on Trinidad and Tobago's justice system and the rumoured return of Basdeo Panday as political leader of the opposition UNC party, among other things.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Compton wins St. Lucia Election

  14 December 2006

As John Compton is elected Prime Minister of St. Lucia, coming out of retirement to a resounding win over the Kenny Anthony-led government, Abeni cautions: “Incumbent governments must beware of complacency. No matter how glitzy you make the campaign, the bottom line is if the populace feels its needs are...

Puerto Rico: Craven?

  14 December 2006

Gil the Jenius wants his “Craven” theory to be proven wrong in light of James O'Malley's post about recent changes in Puerto Rico's tax code.

Jamaica: Anti-Service Culture

  14 December 2006

“…Sales people often seem to be actively working against closing the deal; in this sense, we can call it an ‘anti-service’ culture,” writes Stet as she offers fascinating examples of this Jamaican phenomenon.

Guyana: Palm Oil Plant

  14 December 2006

According to an article by Tim Slinger in The Nation newspaper, a Barbadian company has struck a deal with the Guyana government to use over 400,000 acres of land for a palm oil plant project to produce bio-diesel. This could herald cheaper fuel prices in Barbados, but MediaCritic wants to...

Cuba: Musical Cubans

  14 December 2006

“Cubans and music go back a long way”: Luis M. Garcia examines the Cuban connection to singing and dancing in light of an article from The Economist.

Trinidad & Tobago: Charles, Majarah & 6 Degrees

  14 December 2006

The Caribbean Beat blog posts two interesting entries: The first admires the music of young trumpeter Etienne Charles and the writing of Niala Majarah in what Beat calls “a major new Caribbean novel”; the second examines the Six Degrees of Separation theory in a Caribbean context.

Trinidad & Tobago: Derailing Rapid Rail?

  13 December 2006

The Trinidad and Tobago government has plans for a $15 billion rapid rail project intended to ease the nation's traffic congestion, but as guest writer Driselle Ramjohn writes at ttgapers.com, industry experts as well as the local arm of Transparency International are calling for the procurement process to be put...

Caribbean: Cricket World Cup

  13 December 2006

Ninad Gujar is looking forward to the “47 days of World Class Cricket” that the 2007 Cricket World Cup (being held in the Caribbean) will provide. He outlines the format of the tournament and posts photos and statistics of previous winners.

Jamaica: “Elegy for a Fallen General”

  13 December 2006

“…Like many other Chileans forced out of our country, today I regret only one thing: that we never saw you in front of a judge.” Vivianne Schnitzer's words on the death of Chilean ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet so touched Geoffrey Philp that he posted a poem, Elegy for a Fallen General.

Guyana: Will the Stadium be ready for Cricket World Cup?

  13 December 2006

“The Guyana Providence Stadium outfield is dead as a door nail,” reports Robin Banks, as preparations for the ICC 2007 Cricket World Cup “are coming down to the wire”. Posted with a photo gallery of the stadium site and cricket pitch.

Barbados: Corporate Governance

  13 December 2006

Barbados Free Press refers to an article from the Trinidad Express that calls for corporate governance to be made more transparent by law.

Aruba: Disappointing Strike

  13 December 2006

Arubagirl was all geared up for a national strike against a 3% sales tax that the government is planning to introduce, but it all came to nought.