· April, 2009

Stories about Jamaica from April, 2009

Jamaica: Mad Tax

  29 April 2009

Abeng News Magazine‘s Michael Spence says: “The new gas tax added in the latest Jamaican national budget is bad but when you tax reading material…this has to come from a government that has gone mad and is intent on helping the poor to get poorer.”

Jamaica: Career Crime?

  29 April 2009

“In times of economic downturn, crime pays”: Jamaica Salt is saddened that “more and more Jamaicans are taking up robbery as a professional career.”

Jamaica: Gas Tax

  27 April 2009

“I've come to the conclusion that there is some irrational link between the price of gas in Jamaica and public tolerance levels”: Annie Paul thinks that the imposition of the gas tax is “long overdue”.

Jamaica: Wasn't Me

  23 April 2009

Girl With a Purpose learns that as investigations are launched into the security breach at the Jamaican airport which resulted in a (now resolved) hostage situation, “the persons in charge of security at the airport (MBJ Airports Limited) are telling us – it wasn't them…”

Caribbean: Earth Day

  22 April 2009

A few regional bloggers acknowledge the significance of Earth Day: Grenada's Spicewriter, Jamaica's Life, Unscripted, on the Rock and Bermuda's cartoon blog, The Devil Island.

Jamaica: Perspective on Pirates

  20 April 2009

Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul happened to be reading a manuscript about pirates at a time when “the pirates of Somalia were rousing international consternation by capturing a US ship and holding its crew hostage” – and she shares an alternative perspective on this age-old profession.

Jamaica: Debt Relief

  13 April 2009

Although Jamaica Salt reports that the island “has had some welcome relief from its huge, crippling debt”, the blogger is sceptical that the money saved will be channeled into the right areas.

Jamaica: Leave the Lizards

  6 April 2009

Jamaica's Long Bench is disturbed by a mainstream media article about the hunting of a lizard: “When I consider how much effort we put into destroying what we don’t understand – whether its people or lizards – I do wonder how much longer we can sustain these levels of ignorance...

Jamaica: Marley's Life

  3 April 2009

Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp poses five questions to the author of a new book about reggae icon Bob Marley.

Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Focus on Obama

  1 April 2009

Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp posts another poem for Barack Obama, while in Trinidad and Tobago, Media Watch applauds the BBC‘s coverage of Obama's arrival for the G20 Summit and says that local media should take a cue from its foreign counterparts to improve their coverage of the upcoming Summit...

Jamaica: G20 Priorities

  1 April 2009

Jamaica Salt thinks that “the vulnerability of JA’s economy” will probably be “very low down on the list of priorities” at the G20 summit.