Blogs & Ecology

Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp adapts Psalm 23 to suit the needs of bloggers.

“We won’t be condemning the Palestinians or the Israelis…we won’t be contributing to the chaos on frontlines…[we] have decided that our approach will be to help bridge communities”: Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine has a very clear goal for 2009.

The Israeli strikes on Gaza cause Jamaican Annie Paul to remember Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass' “heartfelt rumination on war and the role of writers in times of war”, saying: “While Grass did not explicitly mention bloggers (perhaps in 2006 they were not as omnipresent as they are today) everything he had to say about the responsibility of writers can and should be applied to us.”

From natural disasters to lightning bolts of the athletic kind, 2008 was a busy one for the Caribbean blogosphere. Here are some of the highlights…

‘Tis the season - and nowhere celebrates Christmas quite like the Caribbean! Here's a glimpse into what bloggers are doing to get into the spirit of the festivities…

All blogger Long Bench wants for Christmas is “a public apology from Bruce Golding for how he and his government have been a spectacular failure and embarrassment to Jamaicans in 2008.”

Jamaicans have an innovative method of dealing with the impact of the global economic crisis - Iriegal says that merchants “are now cutting everything in half and selling it at reduced prices.”

“An issue which seems to be troubling the government over their decision to reinstate the death penalty, is the worry that foreign governments will stop making aid contributions”: Jamaica Salt explains.

Need to go to the bathroom in Jamaica? Iriegal can point you in the right direction.

Jamaican Kadene Porter, writing at Abeng News Magazine, notices that women are often less than gracious “when it comes to conceding defeat in a political campaign.”

Idle Yout Speeks weighs in on the death penalty debate in Jamaica: "just beneath the surface we all hold a level of primal savagery that we keep under wraps under the premise of civilized behavior."

Three Caribbean nations — Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago — have substantial populations of Indian origin, and many of the region's anglophone territories have cultural links with India rooted in British colonialism. (Cricket — the "national" sport of both the West Indies and India — is the most obvious manifestation.) Unsurprisingly, many people in the Caribbean — bloggers included — have been closely following the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai with anxiety and consternation.

“In Jamaica, the word ‘Autism' is just now becoming a familar word. Years ago, having a child that was ‘different' can warrant just titles as, ‘baffon' or ‘Lagga Head'”: A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah is pleased that autistic children are finally beginning to get the help they need.

Active Voice wants to let you know “that despite the global financial meltdown and the downfall of another wall–Wall Street–WE ARE NOT IN PANIC MODE in Jamaica.”

Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has been chosen as the International Athletic Foundation's ‘Athlete of the Year'; regional bloggers congratulate him.