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, 2010
Cuba: Letters to the Editor
Generation Y says that the Granma newspaper's “Letters to the Editor” section “has created the false impression that criticism is admissible and one can speak with ‘no holds barred’.”
Guyana: Rodney's Anniversary
Repeating Islands notes that this Sunday “will mark the 30th anniversary of the 1980 assassination of Water Rodney, who was killed by a bomb in the middle of Georgetown, Guyana.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Price of “Progress”
Abeni notices the proliferation of fast food franchises in St. Vincent and the Grenadines: “As our nation gorges itself on fast food and channel surf to our leisure we get fatter and fatter placing more burden on the shaky health system.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Griffith & Antoni
The Caribbean Review of Books is “delighted that two Trinidadians have made the 2010 list” of Guggenheim Fellows.
Bermuda: The Flip Side
“So much of the dialogue about organised gambling in Bermuda is (purposefully) rosy”: Vexed Bermoothes foresees some negative consequences.
Jamaica: Dancing for the Don?
“Passa-Passa wasn’t just a big street dance. It was a full-on performance BY Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke for the rest of the country and the world. He showed…that he had the power to…[draw] crowds of people like moths to a flame to frolic in his personal fiefdom that is Tivoli. Smart...
Cuba: Being Black
Ivan's File Cabinet explores what it's like to be black in Cuba.
Haiti: Grass Roots
“Mainstream media sources in the United States have rarely mentioned this type of local organizing initiated by activists and every day Haitians”: Tande blogs about a few grassroots organisations doing important work in Haiti.
Dominica: A Day in the Life
Dominica Weekly highlights a documentary which “brings to life the rich heritage and culture of the Kalinago (Carib) people in Dominica.”
Bermuda: Balanced Media
“The Bermuda Code of Practice appears to be well balanced and cover the established international best practices”: Vexed Bermoothes therefore sees “no reason for Government to pursue its punitive draft Media Council Act.”
Jamaica: Caribbean-American
What does it mean to be a Caribbean-American? Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp asks someone who knows.
Cuba: Slow Going
While the Cuban government and the Catholic Church engage in talks, Without Evasion says any developments “are absolutely insufficient and extremely slow with respect to the ultimate objective of the civic resistance of The Ladies in White and Guillermo Fariñas: their definitive liberation.”
Bahamas: Budget Perspectives
Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit examines “how [the country's] economic circumstances have evolved over the past decade.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Dual Role
KnowTnT.com sees “three pillars” regarding “the issue of whether the new Minister of Works and Transport, Mr Jack Warner, should resign his FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President roles.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Media & Food
“The food industry is engaged in a number of strategies, sometimes considered questionable, to control the dissemination of information and the general response to their products”: Simply Trini Cooking considers how advertising influences food choices.
Haiti: Farmers’ Rights
The Haitian Blogger republishes a Facebook report that supports Haitian farmers “in their epic fight against the Monsanto multinational corporation.”
Jamaica, St. Maarten: R.I.P. “Yaya”
Geoffrey Philp's Blogspot acknowledges the passing of the St. Martin folklorist Laurelle “Yaya” Richards.
Guyana: Twittering
Signifyin’ Guyana suggests that “its promise of a succinct, timely message relayed between friends, (and enemies), networkers, netidlers, and all other kinds of purposeful or purposempty folk, is probably why Twitter is so seductive to many.”
Haiti: What Would Jean-Juste Say?
“If father Jean-Juste were alive, what he would say to the earthquake survivors? What he would say to the international and Haitian government bureaucracies?”: Wadner Pierre remembers the late Father Gerard Jean-Juste, whom he describes as “an adoptive father” to him.
Bahamas: Cleaning Up the Spill
“There is oil in the water, disaster in the air”: Womanish Words wants to know what we're going to do about the oil spill in the Gulf.
Trinidad & Tobago: Setting Precedents
“There were some precedents set by the last PNM, which were so shocking, even by our elastic standards, that they must be highlighted, so we can ensure they are never repeated”: Afra Raymond thinks now is as good a time as any to remind Trinidad and Tobago's new government about...
