Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from September, 2010
Trinidad & Tobago: Do the Math
“If citizens are being asked to trust our leaders’ public statements, then the statistics on their own departments’ websites must match”: KnowTnT.com is doing the math and says the numbers don't add up.
Jamaica: Palisadoes’ Defeat
Snail Writer blogs about the “environmental defeat” of the Palisadoes spit, “that jointed arm that holds Kingston Harbour in loose embrace”; Labrish echoes her “lamentations for Jamaica’s special places of natural beauty and the alarm at the lack of environmental consideration given to these places that are the heritage of...
Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia: Regional Winner
Caribbean Book Blog notes that a Trinidadian teacher submitted one of the regional winning entries in the Commonwealth Short Story Competition.
Guyana: Gold Rush?
Guyana-Gyal thinks the gold rush must be on again – at least judging from the influx of foreigners – and each of them, she says, “got their own winning technique.”
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Remembering Wayne
On the one-year anniversary of Wayne Brown's death, The Caribbean Review of Books posts an essay by Mervyn Morris on the writer's life and poetic achievement.
Martinique: Grande Dame Passes On
The Caribbean Review of Books acknowledges the passing of “Jenny Alpha, Martiniquan singer and ‘grande dame de la culture créole’.”
Jamaica: Understanding Gangs
Jamaica Salt says “there are many things that drive men (and women) to take up the gun in Jamaica”, adding: “Condemning them without understanding the reasons behind their decision would be a big mistake, because therein lies the solution.”
Guyana: Book Blogger Week
The Signifyin’ Woman celebrates Book Blogger Appreciation Week.
Cuba: Cutting 500,000 Jobs
On the heels of Fidel Castro's admission (and subsequent retraction) that the Cuban economic model no longer works, the government has announced [ES] that it intends to cut massive numbers of state jobs, in an effort to breathe some life into the island's struggling economy. Cuban bloggers discuss the measures.
Trinidad & Tobago: Happy Birthday, Alice Yard
Pleasure says of Alice Yard's fourth anniversary: “The contribution of this space, at formal, anecdotal and social levels, cannot be underestimated. It has been a place for the arts, in a country where the arts are all too often left bereft.”
Barbados: Charges Laid
Barbados Free Press reports that murder charges have been laid against two young men in the recent robbery/firebombing incident.
Bermuda: Eye on Igor
Bermuda Blog is keeping its eye on Hurricane Igor.
Haiti: Protest Today
Wadner Pierre reports that residents of several Haitian tent cities were scheduled to demonstrate this morning, calling for decent housing and the right to education.
Jamaica: Animation & Culture
Dancehall claymation – who knew it existed? Art: Jamaica talks about cultural identity with its creator.
Trinidad & Tobago: Sound Plan?
KnowTnT.com weighs in on “government's plans for bailing out CLICO's short-term investment and mutual fund depositors”, while Plain Talk adds: “The contentious…CLICO issue…has…ended up only rewarding the gang of thieves that caused the problem in the first place.”
Barbados: Street Justice
The Bajan Reporter posts video of an alleged pedophile being subjected to a brand of vigilante justice, while Barbados Free Press wonders if the crowd’s action could be a symptom of a larger malaise.
St. Lucia, French Guiana: Googol
“What if a superhero was born today in French Guiana? How do you cope with inviting her into your plan – wherever or whoever you are? I am Googol explores these questions”: Caribbean Book Blog profiles the Caribbean national behind the world's newest superhero.
Cuba: Change the Model
Of Fidel Castro's admission during an interview that the Cuban economic model doesn't work, Along the Malecon says: “Most of 11 million Cubans endure great economic hardship because the Cuban economy does not work. Castro should not only acknowledge that, as he evidently did, he should take bold steps to...
Bahamas: Cemetery Solution?
Jerome Pinder at Weblog Bahamas proposes a solution to the decaying state of the country's cemeteries: “I would suggest that we put…prisoners on Chain Gangs and have them keep our Cemeteries clean. And while they are at it, they could clean our streets, parks, playgrounds, and give Bay Street a...
Trinidad & Tobago: Love vs. Hate
KnowTnT.com says of the U.S. pastor who intends to burn the Quran on September 11: “Let us get to the real heart of this matter, which is not about God's love but about MAN'S HATE. I hope that everyone out there will listen when I say God's love will NEVER...
Trinidad & Tobago: Fear Factor
Crapauds? Cocktail Parties? Lisa Allen-Agostini shares her biggest fear.