Author: Janine Mendes-Franco

At Paramaribo SPAN, Chris Cozier considers the work of a tattoo artist “using skin as another canvas”, which “coincides with the painted decorations on Paramaribo minibuses, reaching out to a larger contemporary public and extending the dialogue about visual production.”

Dominica Weekly puts forward its take on the issue of censorship, commenting: “Dominican authorities must pay close attention to other lyrics which glorify guns, drugs, violence or deviant behaviour. Calypso, as a art form [has] tremendous influence on the behaviour of youth…and governments have a responsibility to ensure that the values of society are respected and maintained.”

TriniGourmet.com “shine[s] a spotlight on Trinidad’s largest cultural festival, Carnival”, while gspottt publishes a list of Carnival safety tips.

As Bermuda's debt climbs, Vexed Bermoothes thinks that “government would downsize both its expectations and its size, institute rigorous budgets and controls, and get a grip on its finances”; Barbados Underground, meanwhile, is afraid that “the Barbados economy appears to be headed for the rocks.”

“If more people stood up for themselves, less people would take advantage of others. And if less people took advantage of others, you'd probably have a lot less crime”: Trinidadian blogger Taran Rampersad thinks it all begins with basic etiquette.

As the government “seeks to do away with juries and have hearings in front of a judge alone”, Jumbie's Watch comments: “The reason I am doubtful that this is a workable solution in Trinidad and Tobago is because of the clear corruption in the judiciary there.”

Trinidadian blogger Tattoo shares his thoughts on former Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday: “I’m sure of one thing: [he] will never be able to live down the events of last month. He will never be able to dust-off the fact that he contested the post of leader within his own party and lost.”

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that “3 Cuban political prisoners this week delivered their congratulations to South African patriarch Nelson Mandela on this month's 20th anniversary of his release from prison”, and notes that they “identify with Mandela's own 27 years in prison, his lifelong struggle against an illegitimate regime and his willingness to forgive in order to build a better, freer society.”

“The race to win the coveted titles of Best Book and Best First Book in the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize has begun”: St. Lucia's Caribbean Book Blog reports, while Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp is excited about the 2010 Commonwealth Short Story Competition.

As Haiti drops from being the lead story in the mainstream media, how can they hear stresses that “what Haiti needs most are those that are ready to run the marathon, not just run the 100 yard sprint.”

The Life and Times of the Mangine Many republishes a map of the damage in Haiti from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, while The Livesay [Haiti] Weblog wonders “how anything like this can ever be quantified.”

Repeating Islands discovers that “the conditions [in Haiti] are still too precarious for reliable delivery of breast milk.”

The Haitian Blogger gives an update on the story of American “missionaries” trying to take children out of Haiti without proper documentation: “A problem in Haiti which is heightened by the catastrophic earthquake is child trafficking. Thankfully, the 10 Missionaries who attempted to move 33 orphans into the Dominican Republic in order to establish an “‘orphanage' were apprehended. The Missionaries are now behind bars in Haiti. Haitian officials have indicated that they believe these Missionairies are kidnappers.”

Repeating Islands reports that “the late Shiva Naipaul, younger brother of V. S. Naipaul, has been put on the long list for the lost Man Booker Prize that seeks to honor books published in 1970.”

“Our conversation begins and ends with Haiti, but digresses down some of the anxious paths my thoughts seem to trace these days”: Nicholas Laughlin has a chat with Scott McLemee.

Geoffrey Philp acknowledges the passing of Albert Huie, the last survivor of the “Drumblair” group of intellectuals and artists that drove the national movement for Jamaican Independence.

“If there is nothing as strong as an idea whose time has come, the notion of ‘debt forgiveness' for Haiti has arrived in our time as a nine-point-five on whatever scale it is that measures compassion”: Blogging from Barbados, B.C. Pires thinks that CARICOM countries should be leading the charge when it comes to canceling Haiti's debt.

how can they hear reports from Jacmel, Haiti: “There is certainly a shift taking place here in the last 2 days. Life seems to be getting back to normal… In no way do I want it to sound like life is peachy in Jacmel, because I’m sure that for many, it is not. But the point is that life is resuming here… Food is available. Gas is available. Moto taxis are once again crowding the narrow streets.”

The Haitian Blogger reports on Haitians helping one another: “A restaurant on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince is taking up the slack left by still-incomplete relief efforts and feeding 1,000 hungry and homeless Haitians a day—for free.”

Diaspora blogger Peggy Brunache is touched by the outpouring of support for Haiti: “I have always felt that Haiti was like that little kid who everyone tried to hit first and repeatedly during a dodgeball game. After getting pummelled, the little kid would get up, brush herself off and limp to her next class. And yet this time, when something large, hard, and random fell out of the sky hitting this little girl in her head, knocking her down with a severe concussion, bleeding profusely, a bunch of kids ran over to help her.”