Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from April, 2011
Jamaica: Cruel Cartoon?
Jamaica Woman Tongue has her say about cartoonist Clovis Brown’s recent caricature of Vybz Kartel: “The genuine wit of the stinging editorial cartoon appears to have degenerated into little more than vulgar gutter sniping.”
Haiti: Relevance of Lavalas
In the context of Haiti's recent elections, Toussaint on Haiti considers Fanmi Lavalas‘ political future: “The answer is not to cancel the last elections to have new elections that include FL. The worst thing that FL can do is continue with the same arguments of the last 24 years. If...
Bahamas: The Play's the Thing
“It’s got the story, it’s got the characters, and it’s got the timing to make it succeed for the moment. But what it should be looking to do is to last…it’s not enough to write a play that inspires us just to laugh. What is required is the production of...
Cuba: Threat of the Internet
“In Cuba, access to the internet is restricted and very expensive for citizens, but it is also controlled by state institutions”: Laritza Diversent explains.
Guyana: Men's Issues
CODE RED weighs in on the fact that Guyana has launched a Men’s Affairs Bureau, saying: “It seems that Caribbean governments are unable to address men’s issues outside of a framework of re-inscribing male dominance…if the intention is to ensure men’s right to a good life why is men’s violence...
Cuba: House Arrest for Fariñas
Uncommon Sense has the details on independent journalist and human rights activist Guillermo Fariñas’ latest detention.
Trinidad & Tobago: No Impartiality
B.C. Pires suggests that the former head of the Police Service Commission has shown his true colours by “putting out a public call to police officers who feel they are being victimized”, saying: “So. It was ‘an Indian thing’ all along.”
Cuba: Exam Fraud
“Fraud in Cuban schools is a deep evil, almost endemic,” says Iván García, who explains that “on a greater or lesser scale it’s been happening since 1970.”
Guyana: Losing Your Religion
“Each cast different blame. Your country fault. Your religion fault. And none can see that both is wrong…”: Guyana-Gyal thinks that many of the world's problems could be solved if people would actually listen.
Jamaica, Barbados: Search Putting CARICOM at Risk?
Abeng News Magazine says that “Jamaica’s foreign minister…is intimating that…CARICOM could be threatened if an alleged vaginal search of a Jamaican woman mid March by Barbadian border service agents is not dealt with frankly and honestly.”
Jamaica: Poetry & Sensuality
For his 21 Days/21 Poems series, diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts an erotic poem by Jacqueline Johnson, saying: “What I love about this poem is the subdued sensuality.”
Cuba: Political Opposition
Uncommon Sense republishes “what repression on the island looked like in March”, according to the statistics put forward by Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation.
Barbados: Windies-Leaks?
Two Barbadian blogs take note of a new website dedicated to “all the West Indies Cricket Board dirt, all the time.”
Trinidad & Tobago: On Race
“We need to work hard at bringing all of our people back fully into the national family if we ever hope to advance as a nation…”: Plain Talk tackles the issue of racism.
Haiti: “Sweet Micky”‘s Mandate
Dying in Haiti puts forward the new president's mathematical mandate, saying: “His opportunity to do good for Haiti is huge. It would be great if he would deliver on just one of his big promises above. It would be great to be pleasantly surprised.”
Cuba: Blame it on the Culture?
Octavo Cerco is reticent to blame Cuba's problems on its culture.
Trinidad & Tobago: Equal Representation
“Mohammed made an ill-advised move earlier in his appointment in a confrontation with two police officers and lost a lot of credibility thereafter, and there was subsequently a national petition to have him removed from office–but surely the bigger picture is that he is right about the imbalance in the...
Bermuda: Confronting Crime
Respice Finem says of the growing crime problem: “When we act decisively to confront the social malaise coming out of the impoverished neighbourhoods that all too often provided the breeding ground for violence we will have made progress.”
Haiti: Martelly Declared Election Winner
Bloggers are reporting that Michel Martelly has emerged victorious in the recent run-off election to become Haiti's next president; Throwing Down the Water, meanwhile, is unhappy with the Miami Herald's early declaration of the winner: “I don't appreciate news agencies interfering with Haiti's attempt to actually hold a legitimate run-off...
Trinidad & Tobago: Mohammed's Sacking
“Trinidad’s unerring instinct to do the wrong thing at the wrong time continues in spades,” says B.C. Pires of the firing of the Police Service Commission Chair, adding: “Instead of Nizam Mohammed being made to see the error of his ways, he has now been made a martyr.”
Cuba: Carter's Visit
Different perspectives on former U.S. President Carter's Cuba visit, here and here.
