Global Voices » Nicholas Laughlin

Jamaica: why they lost the election

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:24:51 +0000

Active Voice analyses yesterday's general election in Jamaica, explaining how Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the Jamaica Labour Party — who looked, a month ago, set to be returned to office — lost in a landslide to Portia Simpson-Miller and the People's National Party. “Let’s see if the PNP having gained such a huge nod from the electorate will now put its mouth where its money is and really strike a blow for equal rights for all.”

Trinidad and Tobago: a lesson about strength

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:06:39 +0000

When Passion.Fruit sets out to rescue a trapped pigeon, a random encounter with a passing grandmother teaches her a lesson about strength, patience, and wisdom. “She cooed and comforted — nothing weak about her…. An accustomed unbinder of trapped limbs.”

Jamaica: a new prime minister

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:59:24 +0000

As Girl with a Purpose reports, the governing Jamaica Labour Party was defeated in yesterday's general election, and People's National Party head Portia Simpson-Miller is Jamaica's new prime minister — “a leader whose educational background is not as brilliant as her competitors,” observes Abeni from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, “but one who has that something which draws people.”

Barbados: too many cars

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:37:53 +0000

Barbados Underground asks: how can the island solve its perennial traffic problem? “Barbados is 166 square miles and at some point commonsense will have to take root. The number of vehicles on our roads cannot be allowed to go unregulated for much longer.”

Guyana: crime and insecurity

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:32:38 +0000

“Travel around coastland Guyana and you will see it too,” writes Imran Khan: “burglar bars, grillwork, heavily armed company security forces, reinforced doors, guard huts, watchmen, security lights, CCTV cameras.” He muses on the relationship between crime, underdevelopment, and political leadership.

Bermuda: rethinking ties with Britain?

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:21:01 +0000

The British government is reviewing its relationship with its overseas territories, writes Catch a Fire, and inviting Bermudans to share their perspectives. “I think we need a new Constitutional Convention to modernise and reform our relationship with the UK … and I would like each Overseas Territory to have a representative (an MP) in Westminster.”

Cuba: on writer Achy Obejas

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:15:47 +0000

Montague Kobbe profiles Achy Obejas, a Cuban-American writer who “constantly challenging her readers to (re)think their positions in relation to the most basic principles that govern our attitudes towards each other.”

Jamaica: missing children

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:11:40 +0000

Where are the more than 500 children reported missing in Jamaica this year, asks Petchary — and why are more people not paying attention to “a serious issue which, at the best of times, is brushed aside as if it is nothing of great importance”? “How many are alone, hopeless, despairing, struggling? We don’t know.”

Jamaica: politician too loud?

Nicholas Laughlin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:04:42 +0000

Yvette J. Rowe contemplates a Jamaican election campaign advertisement that portrays opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller as “too loud”: “These ads about attitude and posture are scoring dubious points rather than talking about the policies or the future of the country.”

Barbados: leptospirosis outbreak

Nicholas Laughlin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:58:57 +0000

A government press conference addressing a leptospirosis outbreak prompts Barbados Free Press to ask some questions: “Why must every new leptospirosis outbreak be a surprise? Why are Barbados governments incapable of implementing and carrying through with long-term plans about issues that are foundational to the health and safety of citizens?”

Barbados: old-time Christmas

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:45:50 +0000

Barbados Underground indulges in some seasonal nostalgia and describes a traditional Christmas “the Bajan way”: “Our young ones are missing that special warmth that we made as children.”

Cuba: talking to Orlando Luis Pardo

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:39:09 +0000

Along the Malecón posts a three-part video interview with Cuban writer, photographer, and blogger Orlando Luis Pardo of the blog Boring Home Utopics.

Bermuda: a blog break?

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:34:49 +0000

Is Bermuda’s blogosphere “taking a general break from blogging”? “Many of the newer blogs that set up in the last year or two seem to have generally been abandoned,” writes Catch a Fire, but he suggests that with a general election on the horizon Bermudan bloggers are likely to pick up pace once more.

Jamaica: support for LGBT rights?

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:30:50 +0000

In a televised election debate, Jamaica's opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller expressed cautious support for LGBT rights and for repealing the country's buggery laws. Ross Sheil gives a summary of the public reaction, “which shows the country softening or becoming more pragmatic on the issue.”

Jamaica: out of context

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:25:41 +0000

In the run-up to a general election in Jamaica, is a political advertisement misrepresenting opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller by taking her comments out of context? Active Voice asks: “is it accurate and ethical to splice disparate bits of video and audio together like this?”