Janine Mendes-Franco · June, 2013

Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from June, 2013

The Bahamas: Intellectual Property & Reparations

  26 June 2013

The amount of traditional knowledge that is stolen from our region on a daily basis is staggering. Blogworld suggests that there is a link between that knowledge and required compensation for “the slaves and their ancestors [who] have never been paid for the generations of their labour.”

Trinidad & Tobago: E-mails & Integrity

  26 June 2013

In more fallout over what has come to be known as “e-mailgate”, Trinidad and Tobago bloggers are tracking how the political fracas has affected public perception of the country's Integrity Commission.

Jamaica: Working for Women?

  26 June 2013

Jamaica Woman Tongue takes a closer look at an antiquated law that restricts women working at night. “It looks like progress,” she says, “but there’s definitely a downside to freeing up women for night work. It’s not all about emancipation.

Trinidad & Tobago: Tourists Charged

  24 June 2013

This is a country where tourism is a big portion of the nation’s income, yet tourists are clearly not valued, even just enough to answer a simple question. tzen project blogs about her family's travel nightmare in Trinidad and Tobago.

Haiti: Model Camp Morphed into Slum

  21 June 2013

Three years after its star-studded launch, the model camp for Haiti’s 2010 earthquake victims has helped give birth to what might become the country’s most expansive – and most expensive – slum. Haiti Grassroots Watch explains.

Bermuda: A Milestone for Human Rights

  19 June 2013

‘It’s kind of absurd to me that we’re even having this discussion. The God I serve says we are to love one another.’ Breezeblog comments on Bermuda's “pass[ing] [of] the amendment to the Human Rights Act making it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation.”

Belize: Conservation Limits?

  19 June 2013

Belize is facing a difficult balancing act when it comes to determining the limits of environmental and cultural conservation. Kevin Edmonds at nacla blog explains.

Trinidad & Tobago: New Media & Tourism

  18 June 2013

We are destined to fail at our tourism efforts because the stakeholders, decision makers and governmental associations have no understanding of the new media landscape. Travel blogger Rishi Sankar takes the Trinidad and Tobago tourism body to task for its “lack of recognition of social media’s impact on tourism.”

Caribbean: Is Somebody Watching?

  18 June 2013

The ongoing saga with U.S. Internet surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden has captured the attention of the world. In two blog posts, one from Trinidad and Tobago and the other from Cuba, there is an interesting juxtaposition between high-tech spying and old-fashioned intelligence, even though they both pit the citizens against the state.

Cuba: Another Brick in the Wall?

  18 June 2013

The whole process is managed and legitimated by a whole army of high-level psychologists and pedagogues in the name of the common Good. Erasmo Calzadilla blogs at Havana Times about the state of education in Cuba: “Till recently, school and repression were for me synonymous.”

Jamaica: Children as Artists

  11 June 2013

The National Gallery of Jamaica Blog is excited about an upcoming exhibition of children's art, which will highlight “the children’s unique responses to questions about their curiosities and the diverse urges of their developing imaginations.”

Barbados: Bush Bath

  10 June 2013

In Barbados, where religion is high on people's list of priorities, Notes From A Small Rock is considering taking a bush bath.

Bermuda: Pension Tension

  5 June 2013

It’s our retirements! Vexed Bermoothes is amazed that people aren’t making more of a fuss about the state of pensions in Bermuda.

Cuba: Yoani Returns

  4 June 2013

I’m back now. Beginning to feel the peculiarities of a Cuba that in my three months absence has barely changed. High-profile Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez talks about returning home after her first trip abroad in years.