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, 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: Hoping for Medals
The MEP Blog takes a look at the country's past Olympic greats and 2012 medal hopefuls.
Guyana: Olympic Dreams
Guyana-Gyal explains how the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London “remind[ed] [her] to stay true to [her] dreams, no matter how mad they might sound to them people here.”
Jamaica: Campaign to Exonerate Marcus Garvey – Part 2
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp has been working tirelessly to gather signatures for the online campaign to exonerate Marcus Garvey, who, in the early 1920s, was convicted and sentenced to prison on charges of mail fraud involving his Black Star Line shipping company. In this follow-up post, Geoffrey discusses why he thinks it is important for Garvey's name to be cleared and why it should be done under the Obama administration.
Jamaica: Campaign to Exonerate Marcus Garvey – Part 1
Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican political leader, writer and thinker who is considered a national hero in the land of his birth. But in the United States, Garvey is down on record as a convicted felon. In the first installment of this two-part post, Global Voices talks to one Jamaican diaspora blogger, Geoffrey Philp, who started an online campaign to clear Marcus Garvey's name.
Trinidad & Tobago: Panday on the Pulpit
“Mr Ramnath’s widow was driven to observe that she didn’t think her husband’s funeral would be used ‘as a platform to bash the government’. Spot the real neemakharam”: B.C. Pires blogs about a former Prime Minister's use of the pulpit to spew political vitriol.
Trinidad & Tobago: Ramadan & Coffee
What's Ramadan like for a coffee drinker? Find out here.
The Bahamas: Comments on the Colorado Shooting
There has not been a significant reaction in the Caribbean blogosphere about the Colorado movie theatre shooting - which is being cited as one of the deadliest in recent U.S. history - save for two Bahamian bloggers, for whom the news hit close to home.
Bermuda: Social Politicking
Respice Finem examines the pros and cons of social media when it comes to its role in political campaigning.
Trinidad & Tobago: Irresponsible Advertising
“The new tagline for the rum’s advertisements was ‘When it pours, you reign.’ My brain exploded. Really? Show images of soaking wet, drunk-looking women, in a campaign that explicitly gives complete domination to the “you” to whom the ads appeal?” Lisa Allen-Agostini wonders “what on earth [the advertising agency was]...
Jamaica: Is Bolt still as fast as lightning?
Annie Paul republishes a piece she wrote for Newsweek on Usain Bolt's chances at the London Olympics.
Jamaica: Half a Century of Independence
Come August 6th 2012, Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of independence from Great Britain. In this post, two bloggers - one from the diaspora and the other living on island - talk about how Jamaicans are preparing for the celebrations, how social media has had an impact and what the country has accomplished in the last half a century.
Trinidad & Tobago: Blogosphere Responds to Turtle Crushing Incident
The news of leatherback turtle hatchlings being crushed by bulldozers on a beach in Trinidad this past weekend has garnered international media attention as well as concern in the blogosphere - but did mainstream or social media really have all the facts?
Guyana: Being Black
Imran Khan addresses the issue of racism in Guyana, saying: “[It] has become a country in which one is privileged to be Indo-Guyanese and cursed to Afro-Guyanese. It is not just not ok to be black in Guyana, it is a condemnation to a life of less.”
Trinidad & Tobago: The Art of Cooking
Dawtah connects the dots for young Caribbean girls between cooking and independence.
Trinidad & Tobago: On the Exam Results Leak
The Eternal Pantomime blogs about the leak of the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination results here and here.
Jamaica: Pardon Garvey
Geoffrey Philp is a member of the diaspora agitating for the exoneration of Jamaican national hero, Marcus Garvey.
Jamaica, Cuba, U.S.A.: Independence Day
A handful of diaspora bloggers acknowledge the United States’ Independence Day, here, here, here and here.
Trinidad & Tobago: Parenting vs. Career
Women and having it all: Lisa Allen-Agostini shatters the myth.
Trinidad & Tobago: Shaq Attack
Outlish collates and comments on some of the Facebook observations about Shaquille O'Neal's visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
Cuba: The Significance of Palfrey's Swim
Today, two Cuban bloggers - one who lives in Havana and the other from the diaspora, living in Florida, discuss the attempt by Penny Palfrey, a 49-year-old British-Australian swimmer and grandmother, to swim the imposing stretch of water between Cuba and the Florida Keys.
