Latest posts by Nicholas Laughlin from May, 2006
Barbados: Environment minister angry about leaks
Barbados Free Press reports that environment minister Liz Thompson “was ‘in a state’ all last week trying to discover the identity of ‘Hummingbird’ — the Environment Ministry insider who has lately been talking to Barbados Free Press and other island media”, and posts a satirical poem on the subject.
Jamaica: Missing generation
Francis Wade thinks about the “missing generation” of middle-class Jamaicans who emigrated seeking better lives for their families, and suggests four reasons for expatriate Jamaicans to return to their homeland, as he himself did. “We probably should not be so ready to encourage our children to migrate, selling them on...
Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica: Remembering ancestors
At The Pan Collective, Trinidadian Attillah Springer describes the Ifa ancestral ceremony held yesterday on the third anniversary of her grandmother's death. “We sang for her. Cooked her favourite foods. Cried a bit and missed her dry humour terribly. And in the end the Iya cast the obi. The offering...
Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis: Soufriere Hills Volcano activity
Georgia Popplewell reports from St. Kitts that the dome of the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat (sixty miles away) has collapsed and an ash eruption has caused flights in the vicinity to be cancelled, due to reduced visibility. She quotes an activity report from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (whose website...
Trinidad and Tobago: Happy birthday, Sam Selvon
Geoffrey Philp writes a birthday tribute to the late Trinidadian writer Samuel Selvon, one of the major figures in West Indian literature. “Comedy is a subversive art form. And comedy in the hands of Selvon obliterates class, color, and creed.”
Trinidad and Tobago: Visit from a televangelist
Rentaempress takes on Benny Hinn, the American televangelist visiting Trinidad this weekend. “The last time he was here he made all sorts of pronouncements about how many demons he had to cast out,” she says. “I'm damn vexed … that we still haven't emancipated ourselves from this colonial mentality.”
St. Lucia, Grenada: Kweyol lesson and photos
Georgia Popplewell at Caribbean Free Radio is travelling in the Eastern Caribbean this week; she's struck by “conservative” St. Lucians’ frankness about condoms, and gets an impromptu Kweyol lesson from two women in Castries. She also posts some photos taken in St. Lucia yesterday, and some from Grenada the day...
Puerto Rico: Building walls
Inspired by the US government's decision to build “a ‘state-of-the-art’ wall” along the border with Mexico, Gil the Genius sarcastically compiles a “list of things in Puerto Rico that need walls all around them”.
Trinidad and Tobago, USA: Trinidadian man caught in child seduction sting
Steups reacts with disgust to the news that a Trinidadian man has been caught in an Internet child-seduction sting in Florida set up by Dateline NBC. “It's not enough that citizens here are causing consternation and shame but now we have expatriates casting negativity upon us.”
Bermuda: “Hate speech” complaint rejected
Bermuda's Human Rights Commission has rejected a complaint against Senator David Burch, who used an offensive racial term in a radio broadcast last year. The HRC had no choice, says the Limey; “Burch's comment was disgusting. But unfortunately not illegal.” But Sean at IMHO.bm is “enraged”, especially because the HRC...
West Indies: Brian Lara's appointment “commercial”?
Sir Viv Richards, West Indies cricket legend, says star batsman Brian Lara was recently appointed captain of the team for “commercial reasons”. “A tad ungracious of the great man,” says Jeremy Taylor at the Caribbean Beat blog.
Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique: Trade and Investment Convention
Taran Rampersad visits the annual Trade and Investment Convention in Trinidad and is pleasantly surprised. He meets a representative of a company in Martinique that develops innovative GPS/GIS software, and has a constructive, candid talk with the business development manager of a new ISP.
Barbados: Time-share development
Why is the government of Barbados getting involved in a time-share development, asks Barbados Free Press; is it “a scheme to pour yet more public funds” into a private hotel chain?
Caribbean: The meaning of “excellent service”
Jamaican Francis Wade at Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle thinks about customer service in the Caribbean. “There is not a single island I have visited in which there is a local company giving excellent service to local people.” He tries to understand why, and congratulates the Sandals resort chain for...
Barbados: Common entrance examination
“Monday was Common Entrance Exam day in Barbados,” writes Titilayo at The Pan Collective. She explains why this exam (sometimes called 11-plus), which determines which secondary schools children will attend, is such a big deal. “To a child that age, it can probably feel like your entire future is hanging...
Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia: Network neutrality
Caribbean bloggers are making noise about the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Efficiency Act of 2006, currently before the US Congress, which would permit “broadband discrimination” by ISPs. “It seems odd that the rest of the world has such little influence on this decision when so much of the world will...
Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Freedom of Information legislation
“In the time it’s taken Bermuda to produce a discussion paper on freedom of information, the Cayman Islands has already started debating some actual draft legislation,” says the Limey, who points out that it's nearly two years since Bermuda's premier promised to table the appropriate legislation.
Guyana: Music piracy
“On the streets young men push cart loads of stolen booty. In stores around town sales girls hand you the very latest stolen booty with a dazzling smile.” Guyana 360 reports on rampant music and movie piracy in the capital, Georgetown, and visits a series of shops where bootleg CDs...
Bahamas: “Generation property”
Nicolette Bethel argues that the Bahamian institution of “generation property” — communally owned land — which many have come to see as a burden, is actually an important source of power and independence, and “lies at the core of the independent spirit of the Bahamian”.
Trinidad and Tobago: Blue devils in Dortmund
Stacy-Marie Ishmael of the Trinidad and Tobago World Cup Team Blog posts two photos of the winged rhino sculpture, decorated by Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace, that represents T&T in Dortmund, Germany, one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup next month. The StudioFilmClub blog points out that the...
Bermuda: Signs of an election
Christian S. Dunleavy looks at the recent activities of Bermuda's ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) and suggests that “the planets are clearly lining up (or being lined up) for an election sooner rather than later.”
