· May, 2006

Stories about Bahamas from May, 2006

Bahamas: Development proposal

  31 May 2006

Residents of a small community in the Bahamas vote against a proposal which would have helped “preserve the character of local communities”. Larry Smith says the proposal's “scope, bureaucratic complexity and level of detail” may be to blame, “and, of course, we should not overlook the ever-present influence of party...

Caribbean: What blogging is for

  30 May 2006

“Blogging … challenges the elitism that pervades the Caribbean and is a great experiment in the democratization of data,” says Geoffrey Philp in a thoughtful essay on the potential role of blogging in the region. “Blogging provides the kind of freedom that is anathema to many gatekeepers who want to...

Bahamas: Ignoring the revolution

  29 May 2006

“These days, it is possible to link to other human beings anywhere in the world by using satellites, cell phones, and the internet. The world has changed, and – without realizing – we have changed with it,” marvels Nicolette Bethel, “But it appears we haven’t noticed this change. That this...

Bermuda: iPoliticians

  24 May 2006

US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's podcast may not be gripping, but according to the Limey, “what's remarkable is that he's doing this at all.” In Bermuda, he adds, “. . . no politician has yet seen the need to have his own blog. The idea that any of them...

Bahamas: Consultation & Arawak names

  24 May 2006

“The old colonial idea advocated by one resident that the government can just hand things down from on high is no longer acceptable in the Bahamas,” says Sir Arthur Foulkes in his appeal for the development of a “culture of consultation” in the Bahamas. In the same post Sir Arthur...

Bahamas: Diplomatic ties with Cuba

  23 May 2006

It is “irresponsible politics” for Bahamas opposition leader Hubert Ingraham to say that if his party came to power he would downgrade the Bahamian embassy in Havana to a consular office, says Andrew Allen at Bahama Pundit. “Myriad Bahamian interests deserve representation above the consular level.”

Caribbean: Hurricane outlook

  22 May 2006

Over at the West Indies Cricket blog, Ryan Naraine cites the NOAA’s 2006 Atlantic hurricane season outlook, which says there is “an 80% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 15% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season.”

Caribbean: A West Indian anthem?

  22 May 2006

Kyk-Over-Al links to a column in Guyana's Stabroek News criticising the new West Indian anthem adopted recently by CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), and the Caribbean Beat blog asks its readers how Caribbean leaders should have gone about choosing an anthem. “Via a competition, soliciting entries from the region's best composers...

Caribbean: The meaning of “excellent service”

  17 May 2006

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...

Bahamas: “Generation property”

  17 May 2006

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”.

Caribbean: New West Indies anthem

  11 May 2006

At the Trinidad & Tobago World Cup blog Stacy-Marie Ishmael parses some of the mixed reactions to the new West Indies anthem, which was sung for the first time at yesterday's Trinidad & Tobago v. Peru football match in Trinidad.

Bahamas: Rum Cay Development

  10 May 2006

With one major luxury development project about to break ground and two others in the works, the island of Rum Cay is about to change forever. Larry Smith traces the chequered history of the Bahamian outpost.

Bahamas: Enviromental impact of naval base

  4 May 2006

Sir Arthur Foulkes and Larry Smith weigh the environmental impact of the The US Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre, an the American naval facility on the Bahamian island of Andros. Sir Arthur: “Experience has shown that neither the Americans nor the British can be trusted to make judgments in...

Caribbean: Regional Telecom Penetrates French DOMs

  2 May 2006

“For 155 million dollars, Denis O'Brien's Digicel Group just acquired Bouygues Telecom Caribbean, the second wireless network in the French Caribbean DOMs i.e. about 160,000 subscribers and 80 employees,” says (FR) Internetrapide.com. Digicel is now present in 20 Caribbean countries, explains the blogger.

Bahamas: Colonial baggage

  1 May 2006

Andrew Allen defends his belief that “colonial baggage” inhibits development in the Bahamas, arguing that while quaint colonial vestiges such as the image of the British monarch on the country's currency may appear harmless, “far more pernicious is our tendency to suppress the growth of genuine local institutions and our...