Author: Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal says that spam is a four letter word.

Paramaribo SPAN is excited about its upcoming art exhibition.

Barbados Free Press has its eyes on St. Kitts and Nevis when it comes to transparency and government accountability.

“With a very important budget looming I've been thinking about what the individual parties can get out of it”: Politics.bm considers the upcoming Budget Day in Bermuda.

Jamaican Annie Paul blogs about everything from the regional drought to the recently concluded International Reggae Conference.

“The problem is not lack of food. It's lack of money. Put people to work. Pay them enough to support the local economy. Pay them enough to eat good local food”: Chronicles of an Unplanned Return writes an uplifting post about “beauty, lightness, and good things” in Haiti.

Dominica will be hosting a Green Investment Conference later this year: Repeating Islands reports.

“When houses are barely standing after an earthquake and a tremor like this comes along more houses crumble and more lives are lost”: Pwoje Espwa blogs about Haiti's latest tremor.

The Voice of the Taino People Online notes that “the French authorities confiscated a piece of the Taino culture valued as high as one million euros…”

Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch focuses his attention on a few developments – from politics to crime – in Trinidad and Tobago.

This Beach Called Life admonishes his fellow Trinidadians to “leave the Prime Minister alone”.

Following an incident in which children were reportedly taken from their legal guardians and placed in a UNICEF camp, Tara at The Livesay [Haiti] Weblog says: “I am so sad to have learned (as a result of the earthquake) that most everything in the world is based on money and power.”

Mango Media Caribbean does the Beyonce/bmobile math, following the recent concert in Trinidad: “Great product + poor planning – expert events management + huge advertising spend – marketing thinking = 1 of the most spectacular event/concert failures in recent history…”; while Underground Trini Artiste gives a rundown of his concert experience.

From Barbados, Allegiance blogs about the possibilities for a regional cricket sector: “The idea is not for Government to throw money at cricketers or to interfere with the rules of the game. It is about building an industry in which we appear to have a competitive advantage.”

Barbados Underground says that “the recent catastrophic earthquake which rocked Haiti has exposed one of the weaknesses of modern civilization; the failure to narrow the gap between rich and poor countries.”

Bermuda's Vexed Bermoothes bemoans the fact that “government’s debt is scratching the ass of $1 billion dollars now”, but takes heart “that some of Bermuda’s institutions are doing their job to blow the whistle and put on the brakes.”

Repeating Islands republishes segments of a report on HIV infections in Haiti, while Haiti Vox links to a story on “who's getting the first Haiti contracts”, saying: “It's important for us to widely circulate this information, and to HELP Haitian groups who may want to apply…it's also important for Haiti watchers who are promoting transparency and equity and want to make sure Haitian community groups get a share of the pie…”

“The men and women of Haiti are strong and ready to show the world that they can rebuild their country”: Wadner Pierre says that Haitians are ready to move on post-earthquake.

Repeating Islands reports on water woes in the Caribbean territories of St. Lucia and Grenada.

Both Labrish and Repeating Islands republish The New York Times' obituary on the late Jamaican educator and choreographer, Rex Nettleford.