Stories about Barbados from May, 2009
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Schengen Waived
As Bajan Dream Diary reports that “Barbadians travelling to the European Union will no longer need to obtain the Schengen visa”, Trinidad and Tobago's fake Prime Minister asks: “Since when do Trinis visit Europe anyway?”
Barbados, U.S.A.: Getting the Message
Barbados Free Press is concerned about the conflicting messages being sent regarding the United States’ Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act.
Caribbean, UK: Padel resigns from Oxford post
After regional bloggers reacted en masse to the withdrawal of St. Lucian Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott from the race to be Oxford Professor of Poetry, Ruth Padel, Walcott's closest competitor who eventually won the coveted post, has resigned under pressure of mounting allegations that she was the puppet master behind the smear campaign. Caribbean bloggers do not seem surprised.
Barbados: Inquest Begins
“Some three years after Bajan fisherfolk made the grim discovery of a boat full of bodies off our coast, Barbados is holding an inquest into the deaths of the African migrants who perished trying to journey to Europe”: Barbados Free Press hopes that the local media will closely follow developments.
Trinidad & Tobago: Where's the Integrity?
Transparency and good governance have been popular topics in the Caribbean blogosphere of late. The latest debacle over integrity (or lack thereof?) comes from Trinidad and Tobago, where, in the last few weeks, a second attempt to establish an Integrity Commission has come to a crashing halt amidst revelations that the Chair of the Commission, a Catholic priest, had committed acts of plagiarism. To add even more fuel to the fire, the journalist who drew attention to the plagiarism in the first place, appears to have been fired. Bloggers speak out.
Guyana, Barbados: Illegal Immigration
When it comes to the issue of illegal immigrants in Barbados, Guyanese blogger Imran Khan says: “What is wong is wrong”, adding in another post: “I’m interested in learning what, specifically, President Bharrat Jagdeo is accusing the Barbadians of being ‘un-CARICOM-like’ about?”
Jamaica, Barbados: Calabash Kicks Off
Repeating Islands reports that leading off the readings at Jamaica's Calabash Literary Festival this year will be “Jamaican writers Velma Pollard and Esther Phillips, and Bajan poet Millicent Graham.”
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago:
Barbados-based B.C. Pires publishes a column by the journalist who exposed alleged plagiarism by the former Chairperson of Trinidad and Tobago's now-defunct Integrity Commission.
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Crop Over
Repeating Islands, Trinidad Carnival Diary and Islandista are getting into gear for Barbados’ 2009 Crop Over festival.
Barbados: Budget Speech Reactions
Barbadian bloggers weigh in on the Prime Minister's much anticipated 2009 Budget Speech.
Barbados: Budget Speech
Barbados Underground says that expectations are high for the Prime Minister's 2009 Budget Speech, adding: “There are times when political partisanship should give way to bi-partisanship in the interest of the national self. This is such a time.”
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: CLICO Investigations
“Bad judgment or criminal wrongdoing?” asks Barbados Free Press of the CLICO debacle, adding: “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has launched a criminal investigation into the house of cards known as CLICO and has hired one of the most respected forensic investigators in the world: Robert Lindquist.”
Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Gayle Reactions
Reactions to controversial comments made about Test Cricket by West Indies captain Chris Gayle, from Guyanese blogger Imran Khan and Barbados-based Trinidadian B.C. Pires.
Barbados: More on CLICO
“The expected deal between CLICO Holdings Barbados Limited and Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited seems to have gone off the boil”: Barbados Underground and Barbados Free Press closely follow the latest developments with the failed regional conglomerate.
Barbados: Illegal Immigrants
The Barbados government has offered to regularize the status of existing illegal immigrants – Bajan Dream Diary “wonders how effective this amnesty will be in tackling Barbados’ illegal immigrant problem”; Barbados Underground also has some concerns.
Barbados: Questions about Maloney inquest verdict
The Rastafari community in Barbados responds to the verdict in the inquest into the suspicious death of 23-year-old I'Akobi Maloney, alleged by Barbados police to have jumped from a cliff during an encounter with two officers.
Caribbean: Swine Flu Speculations
Regional bloggers on the Swine Flu outbreak: Repeating Islands speculates about possible Caribbean cases of the disease, while Jamaica's Girl With a Purpose and T&T's This Beach Called Life put a humourous spin on the situation.
