I am a writer and media producer based in Trinidad and Tobago. Follow me on Twitter @JanineMFranco.
Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from June, 2013
Trinidad & Tobago: Is Your Smart Phone Safe?
ICT Pulse offers valuable information on the radiation levels for popular mobile and smartphones in the Caribbean.
The Bahamas: Intellectual Property & Reparations
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
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.
Caribbean: Snowden Raising Spectre of “Monster Under Bed”?
Caribbean bloggers continue to follow developments in the Edward Snowden case. Is he a whistleblower or has he overstepped security boundaries? And has the Internet "become a scary place"?
Jamaica: Working for Women?
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
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
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
‘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?
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
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?
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?
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
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
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
It’s our retirements! Vexed Bermoothes is amazed that people aren’t making more of a fuss about the state of pensions in Bermuda.
Jamaica: Environmental Dangers
‘Hold down an tek weh.’ That’s exactly what it is. Jamaican Woman Tongue blogs about some pressing environmental issues.
Cuba: Yoani Returns
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.
Trinidad & Tobago Writer Wins Lit Prize
Trinidadian writer and blogger Sharon Millar is co-winner of the 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, reports the Bocas Lit Fest Blog.
