As the heads of member states of the Fifth Summit of the Americas gather today in Trinidad and Tobago, bloggers Caribbean-wide are eager to discuss the pros and cons of the event. Grenadian Blah Bloh Blog says: Although I’m a good 150 miles overseas, I must admit to a great deal of personal excitement over the impending arrival of President Obama in Trinidad; we can only hope he might decide on a spur of the moment rest-stop in Greenz perhaps? For the past week or so, as advance security measures have begun, Grenada’s Point Salines International Airport has become a hub for the U.S. Air Force. F15 jets and C5 transports occupy a section of the runway, with the F15s maintaining a steady rotation of recon/surveillance flights. Here’s hoping to hear some good news out of the Summit. Good news may have to wait, but Blah Bloh Blog certainly spread some confusing news in the form of photos (allegedly of the arrival of The Beast) at Piarco International Airport, although there is no confirmation as to whether the vehicle in question is actually the U.S. President‘s limousine – but that didn't stop her from commenting: Lawd, I have to love mi Trini brudders and dem – yuh ent see dem posing wid de man vehicle!! (For what it’s worth, I understand these pictures were taken by T&T police officers, not civilians. I know we Caribbean people good, but we ent so good dat de Secret Service go let we jus’ be liming around de most secure car in de world). Other bloggers, however, are focused on more controversial issues. From Trinidad and Tobago, Undisputed Truth has the financial impact of hosting the Summit on his mind: The government of Trinidad and Tobago is spending between $1 billion to $2 billion TT dollars (US$161 million – US$323 million) of taxpayer money on the Summit. So far they are yet to publicly disclose the exact figure. Trinidad’s GDP is only about US$15 billion. Trinidad is therefore spending about 13% of its GDP just to host the Summit. Prime Minister of Trinidad Patrick Manning has been mentioning his intentions to host the Summit for years. He has translated this into creating state agencies to quickly renovate and construct high-rise buildings in and around Port-of-Spain and the country each costing hundreds of millions of dollars. So the real cost of the Summit may be even scarier. To put this into perspective, the G20 Summit hosted in London costed just £20 million or TT$180 million or US$29 million. So Trinidad is spending as much as 10 times the cost of the G20 Summit for the Summit of the Americas. This is an absolute scandal and waste of money… Barbadian blogger Cheese-on-bread! adds: All eyes will be focused over the next few days on Trinidad, where President Barack Obama will be attending the 5th Summit of the Americas. I must admit now that although I would have been thrilled to get a glimpse of Mr. President, I don't think we could afford the expense that comes with hosting him. Reports suggest that T&T is spending TT$1.2 billion on the summit…thank God they have oil money. No bosie, it doesn't make sense putting ourselves in the poor house to put on a good show for the Americans. Part of the President's surveillance has been set up here at the Grantley Adams International Airport, and I imagine all their satellites must be trained on Trinidad at this moment. All the criminals will probably be lying low this weekend… Over in the French Caribbean, Carib Creole One [Fr] is carefully following Summit developments and ponders on issues of self-governance and inter-Caribbean relations. He also takes a look at the complex relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. Live in Guyana talks about the “Great Wall“: The residents of Beetham Gardens, a drab area of rundown government housing and relentless gang warfare, have been cut off from the rest of this sprawling Trinidadian capital. The government has erected a wall along the neighborhood's frayed edges, blocking the view into a long troubled community that shares space with the murky waters of industrial waste, overgrown weeds and the constant stench of the nearby landfill. The 5-foot-tall wall is simply a beautifying touch, say government officials, who have spent months prepping for the arrival this week of 33 leaders including President Barack Obama at the largest and most important gathering of hemispheric leaders. But it seems that Guyana has some Summit controversy of its own. Caribbean American Forum notes that: The New York Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)…published a full page ad telling summit participants that ‘There is a crisis of governance in Guyana which has burgeoned from unparalleled corruption, bad and despotic governance and the abrogation of the rule of law.