Stories about Humor from July, 2012
World: Nerd Olympics
When nerds follow the Olympic Games, a hashtag like #Nerdlympics is born. Find our favourite tweets in the hashtag here
Russia: Hacker Hell, Scourge of the RuNet
When noted Russian anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny's email and Twitter accounts were hacked, it came as no surprise that the hacker "Hell" took responsibility. A legendary figure in the RuNet, the hacker can either be characterized as a Kremlin shill or a professional troll.
Tajikistan: Learn the National Anthem to be a Doctor
Tajikistan's Deputy Health Minister has recently announced [ru] that “without knowing the national anthem, doctors will not be able to correctly diagnose their patients”. Netizens have responded to the announcement with irony. Blogger Harsavor writes [ru], for example: “[M]y donkey cannot diagnose people. Maybe it is because he does not know...
Is Tunisia a Banana Republic?
Tunisian netizens react to a Tunisian MP's use of the term "President of the Banana Republic" to refer to interim President Moncef Marzouki, during a heated parliamentary debate.
Russia, Belarus: Medvedev and the “Belarusian Circus”
A picture says more than a thousand words, the saying goes. An Instagram snapshot that the Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev tweeted as a tacit comment to his visit to Minsk sure does: the "Belarusian Circus."
Egypt: Egyptians Give Advice to Syrians
Egyptians are dishing out advice to Syrians - on Twitter. Under a dedicated hash tag, the advice ranges from "do not take photographs with tanks" to "take advice from someone else." The move follows news from Damascus this afternoon that three of Syrian president's inner circle have been killed in a bomb blast in Damascus. They include the Defense Minister, whose successor has since been named.
YouTube Show Brings China's Social Media to an English Audience
Want to know what’s going on on China’s social media but cannot speak Chinese? Keep on reading, then. It’s been four months since Elle Lee (@ElleIconLee) and Casey Lau (@hypercasey) opened a Youtube channel to broadcast Weibo Today, a weekly online show spotlighting trending topics from China's social networks in English. We talked to Elle Lee about their show.
Video: Worldwide One-Minute Environmental Film Contest Accepting Submissions
The 3rd Edition of the Tve Biomovies 1 minute environmental film competition has begun. Anyone above the age of 9 with a camera and an idea for a 1 minute video on environmental topics can participate to win a $300 award to produce their video and then compete to win a grand prize of $1500 and participation in the UN COP 18 Conference in November.
Russia: Sveta from Ivanovo to NTV
NTV has announced [ru] that RuNet sensation and Nashi member Svetlana Kuritsyna will host a weekly TV show where she interviews Russia's “greatest newsmakers.” Kuritsyna is known online as “Sveta from Ivanovo” and is infamous for her incoherent and widely mocked pro-Kremlin comments from a December 2011 YouTube video [ru] (now with...
Haiti: The New York Times reviews Haitian Television
What do people watch on TV around the world? Alessandra Stanley, the chief television critic of The New York Times is traveling to many different countries and through videos, she is letting us know what people make and watch on TV. So far, she has covered Haiti and Russia.
Madagascar: Enjoying the 2012 Africa Cup of Rugby
Madagascar is hosting the Confédération Africaine de Rugby (CAR) Championship Division 1B competition from July 4 to 11. The other nations in the group are Morocco, Namibia and Sénégal. While the country has been marred in severe economic and political crisis since the 2009 coup, the Malagasy population is trying to escape their daily struggles by rooting for the Malagasy National Rugby Team also known as the "Makis de Madagascar."
Colombia: ‘Higgsteria’ in Medellín
After the announcement by CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) last week about the search of the Higgs’ boson, Helena Cortés writes [es] about a conference held at the Medellín Planetarium with local scientists explaining the news, and compiles tweets with “accurate and inaccurate comments” about the ‘Higgsteria’.
China: Fist-fight Dating
The argument between two prominent microbloggers, Wu Fatian, a male pro communist party academic and Zhou Yan, a female liberal journalist had ended up in a fist-fight dating in a park in Beijing, attracting many to attend, including artist activist Ai Weiwei. The female has won, then police and web...
Uganda: Netizens Tweet Top Ugandan Lies
The hashtags #TopUgandanLies and #TopKenyanlies trended on 13 June, 2012, where tweeps shared top lies in the region. To Twitter use, @PhenomenalPPP, top Ugandan lie is "On my way, il be there in 15mins." Read what other lies made to the top Ugandan lies list.
Trinidad & Tobago: Shaq Attack
Outlish collates and comments on some of the Facebook observations about Shaquille O'Neal's visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
