Janine Mendes-Franco · January, 2013

Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from January, 2013

Cuba: Internet Change Coming?

  24 January 2013

If you took a poll in our streets about Cubans’ most serious problems, the youngest…would list…lack of access to the Internet. They want to dive into that sea of kilobytes! Translating Cuba explains that “this situation of disconnect could be about to change…the great World Wide Web may be closer...

Jamaica: Hitting the Paywall

  24 January 2013

I hear Swartz and others who maintain that information can and must be free. But to simply equate academic articles with useful information is misleading…these are issues we need to have more nuanced discussions about. Active Voice blogs about the late Aaron Swartz, JSTOR and academic paywalls…

Tobago's Election Results Send Message: Hit the Road, Jack!

  23 January 2013

Tobago's election results have come in and bloggers don't seem surprised. The incumbent, Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London, won by a landslide, while the main challenger, Ashworth Jack, representing the Tobago Organisation of the People, which has links to the country's current administration, failed to win even one seat.

Haiti: Like a Phoenix from the Ashes?

  23 January 2013

Haiti Grassroots Watch examines the pros and cons of the Phoenix Project – a “massive public-private business deal [involving] a factory that would transform garbage from the capitol into electricity, a resource so rare in Haiti, only 30 percent of the population has access.”

“Silly Season” with Tobago's Elections

  16 January 2013

Tobago will be holding its Tobago House of Assembly elections on Monday, January 21 - and though these are not national elections, it is still an important vote, as the result will determine who will steer the semi-autonomous body which governs several key functions of what Trinidadians refer to as “the sister isle”. One political blogger examines the issues...

Haiti: Water & Cholera

  16 January 2013

Was there a simultaneous sabotage of Haiti's municipal water systems while the country was grappling with cholera? kiskeácity links to the details.

No Exit Visa: The Cuban Diaspora Speaks

  15 January 2013

After much anticipation, it has finally happened. The Cuban government has done away with the need for an exit visa - essentially state permission - to leave the country. Bloggers have been sharing their thoughts on this new development.

Jamaica: Handing Over “Calabash”

  15 January 2013

The world can and will run without you. Get over yourselves. Active Voice salutes Colin Channer, the founder of Jamaica's Calabash Literary Festival, whose “exemplary resignation” she thinks “ought to set a precedent in how to love something and yet be able to move on and allow others to continue...

Jamaica: Debt Storm Coming?

  12 January 2013

The Jamaican blogosphere has been a bit prickly ever since the Chicago Tribune, in an editorial on January 8, 2013, compared Jamaica’s financial condition to that of Greece, considered by some to be the most precariously perched country in the global economy.

Discussing the Caribbean's Rape Culture

  11 January 2013

The disturbing gang-rape - and subsequent death - of a young woman in Delhi, India, has elicited global outrage and discussion about gender-based violence. A handful of Caribbean-based bloggers have been sharing their thoughts, not the least of which is that rape is a men's issue.

Jamaica: The 2012 Aaron Matalon Award

  2 January 2013

We must dream backwards / Towards the source / We must row back up the Centuries… The National Gallery of Jamaica Blog notes that jeweller and sculptor, Jasmine Thomas-Girvan, has been awarded the prestigious Aaron Matalon Award for 2012.