I am a writer and media producer based in Trinidad and Tobago. Follow me on Twitter @JanineMFranco.
Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from July, 2009
Cuba: Political Prisoners
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that while one former political prisoner has started a blog, another Cuban human rights activist “faces up to 8 years in prison if convicted of trumped-up charges of assault and receiving stolen property.”
Barbados: Corruption Legislation Needed
“It doesn’t matter how many tens of millions of dollars are missing at the end of a major project, no one ever goes to jail”: Barbados Free Press suggests that part of the problem is that “Barbados lacks the laws and the codified standards necessary to prosecute public officials for...
Trinidad & Tobago: Media Meekness
B.C. Pires recalls a radio show he used to host in the context of falling journalistic standards in Trinidad and Tobago: “From that thin end of the wedge we have reached this stage, where the Prime Minister can make the most foolish statements completely unchallenged – and the Media Association...
Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao: Sweet Tooth
Lifespan of a Chennette blogs about traditional sweets from Curacao: “It was a reminder that even if names were different, and languages, the people and food of the Caribbean do share so much!”
Jamaica: Capturing Pellew
Concerned about plans by private owners to develop Pellew Island, Snailwriter has a plan: “The Tainos ‘owned’ Jamaica until the men in Columbus’s ships took it…I figure I have as much right to do some capturing as anyone. So I’m gonna invade Pellew Island…I know my invasion will be symbolic...
Haiti: Secret Funeral
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre reports that Kenel Pascal, “who appears to have been gunned down by UN occupation troops”, was given a secret funeral “because the priest and family were fearful of UN and Haitian government reprisals” and goes on to write another post examining the circumstances surrounding the death...
Trinidad & Tobago: Emancipation Celebrations
“On August 1, 1985, Trinidad and Tobago became the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery”: Repeating Islands highlights Emancipation Day celebrations in the twin island republic.
Trinidad & Tobago: PM vs. the Media
As the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago declares that the media is against him, KnowProSE.com says: “My olive branch for the Prime Minister would be, ‘You fix the government, we'll fix the media.’ But the point is that he isn't fixing the government…”, while This Beach Called Life sums...
Barbados: Humming Birds
my rustic bajan garden manages “to capture some photos of the emerald throated humming bird” and her young ones, who will soon be ready to leave the nest.
Jamaica: Doping Athletes?
Girl With a Purpose reports on five Jamaican track and field athletes “who have been found with traces of a banned substance in their urine.”
Bermuda, Haiti: Standing Up
“In the 1980s Bermudians participated in the global anti-Apartheid anti-imperialist movement”: Catch a fire thinks “it is time that our new generation continue this tradition and pick up the mantle of fighting injustices” such the ones in Haiti.
Bermuda, U.K.: Missed Celebrations
Repeating Islands reports that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II “skipped yesterday’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Britain’s oldest colony after a row with the island’s pro-independence leader”, adding that the island's Premier was also noticeably absent.
Haiti: What Happened to Pierre-Antoine?
“July 28 marks the 94th anniversary of the US occupation of Haiti…August 12th will mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine”: The Haitian Blogger wonders what has happened to this leading human rights activist.
Trinidad & Tobago: Thoughts on Alleged Plot
Of the alleged plot to assassinate the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, This Beach Called Life says: “Strangely, no one has been arrested even though the Papa claims he knows which group likes him the least.”
Jamaica: On Writing
More on what makes a writer, from Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp.
Trinidad & Tobago: Mother Earth
“It’s not how many tractors you have or how much oil you drill or how many smelters you build. But the humanity and the humility of what you do with your knowledge and your resources”: Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer fears that we will pay for the “gross and sloppy mishandling...
Trinidad & Tobago: Assassination Attempt?
The Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister has revealed an alleged plot to assassinate him a few years ago, prompting diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch to call the claim “a serious piece of dotishness.”
Cuba, U.S.A.: Cabot Journalism Prize
Generation Y has been awarded the Cabot Prize by Columbia University and pledges to use its “prestige and protection…to continue to grow the Cuban blogosphere.”
Jamaica: Dancehall & Child Abuse
As the Jamaican government introduces a child pornography bill, Jamaica Salt makes it clear that the blame for the rise in child abuse on the island cannot be laid squarely at the door of dancehall music.
Guyana: The Nose Knows
Guyana-Gyal takes her nose for a walk.
Caribbean: On Henry Gates Jr.
Caribbean bloggers are still abuzz about the Henry Gates arrest: Jamaican diaspora blogger Pamela Mordecai, 21 Square and Catch a fire from Bermuda and Weblog Bahamas.
