Stories from Quick Reads from August, 2014
NGO Organizes First Interview via Twitter
NGO Dominemos la Tecnología (Let's master technology) invites to the first #TweetInterview “From softactivism to thinking of a network as a space to protest”, to be held on September 1 from 11 to 13 hs (local time, -3 UTC). The event will take place on Twitter with the participation of...
Mexican Cartoonist Compares James Foley's Execution with Presidential Interview
On August 21, Mexican cartoonist Francisco Calderón raised controversy after publishing on his daily cartoon section on Grupo Reforma, an image depicting president Enrique Peña Nieto wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling down in front of a masked executioner. The image is a clear reference to the brutal murder of...
Keeping Inuit Culture Alive Through Video
The Canadian hamlet of Arviat, Nunavut has become a hub for videomaking thanks to the work of its Film Society. This Inuit community has also been a launching pad for some of its youth to find opportunities elsewhere to practice their craft. One of these videomakers is Jordan Konek, once...
Locusts Invade Madagascar's Capital City
#valala pic.twitter.com/YHzOx5Q8QU — Vaintche Rahouli (@vincraholi) August 28, 2014 Twitter and Facebook users from Madagascar's capital city, Antananarivo, have posted several photos of locusts invading the city. Locust invasions are not unusual in Madagascar, especially after tropical storms, but they are very uncommon in larger cities. Locusts can have a...
Ebola Scare: Trapped on the Cameroon/Nigeria Border for Over 40 Hours
On August 19, 2014, the Republic of Cameroon closed its borders with Nigeria in a bid to halt the spread of the Ebola virus. However, the government made this decision without giving enough thought to the thousands of travelers – mostly Cameroonian citizens and Nigerians resident in Cameroon – caught...
In Defense of the National Gallery of Jamaica's Director
Over the last month, the National Gallery of Jamaica's executive director's leadership was the target of criticism, first via an anonymous letter written to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, and then in a blog post written by blogger Annie Paul, which she prefaced by saying: I’ve been closely involved with the...
Nigeria Successfully Curtails Ebola to One Patient
"As I speak to you Nigeria has only one case of Ebola virus." - Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria's Minister of Health
Trinidad & Tobago: Back-to-School Apps
ICT Pulse shares 5 useful apps for staying organised once school starts.
Iran's Grand Ayatollah: 3G Internet Is Immoral
Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, a prominent Shia scholar, has said 3G Internet is immoral and inhumane, Iranian sites reported on Tuesday. #Iran‘s grand Ayatollah Makarem: “high-speed internet & 3G is against Sharia & moral ethics” http://t.co/kbZ3poSfJH pic.twitter.com/04IPVBXiXK — Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) August 25, 2014 Iran has the highest number of...
How To Find Happiness In Democracy
From Bhutan, the land of Gross National Happiness, blogger Passang Tshering shares how people can achieve happiness in democracy. He compares democracy to love marriage and says that there are three groups of people, the lovers, the haters and the concern citizens. The Lovers are the ones who swear by...
Ferguson Evocative of Civil Rights Movement, Says Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger
What’s happened – and what is HAPPENING in Ferguson makes my heart hurt. The ache won’t go away. The anger won’t go away. We’re witnessing history in the making, and history repeating itself. What will be the lessons we learn this time? What scars will we bear? Trinidadian diaspora blogger...
Documenting Nationalistic Hate Speech in Macedonian Media
Human rights expert, activist, and blogger Žarko Trajanoski published a series of analyses about nationalistic, right-wing hate speech in Macedonian media, often veiled as “patriotic” speech. „Патриотскиот“ говор на омраза е препознатлив по намерата за разгорување, поттикнување, или оправдување на омраза кон внатрешните и надворешните „непријатели“. Во основата на ваквиот...
Macedonian Police Harass Journalists Covering Protests
Police harassment of media seems to have become a regular occurrence in Macedonia, which has included the detainment and sentencing of some journalists in the country. On August 25, 2014, Macedonian Nova TV journalists were harassed and “stopped from doing their jobs” by police officers while covering protests held in...
Experience the “Hanoi Soundwalk” Interactive Audio Tour
The Soundwalk is an “interactive, geo-locative audio tour” where a user with a headphone and smartphone app equipped with GPS can hear sounds as he or she walks around the city. …when you move around the sounds will appear to be coming from a particular location, and you can discover...
An Entrepreneur Rewarded for his Innovative Healthcare Work in Cameroon
The prize of Man of the Decade was awarded to Dr. Clément PETSOKO, for his capacity to overcome the numerous difficulties he has faced in recent years.
Eerie Similarities in Deaths Provoked by Police Brutality in Staten Island and Paris
Eric Garner was a 44-year-old African-American man who died following an attempted arrest by the NY Police Department. On July 17, 2014, when police officers attempted to arrest Garner, he had broken up a fight. Garner who suffered from asthma was wrestled to the ground. Medical examiners concluded chokehold and...
China Blocks Beijing Independent Film Festival
Beijing authorities blocked an annual independent film festival from opening on August 23, 2014. The move is seen as a sign that Beijing is tightening ideological controls. According to indie director Huang Wenhai, the shutdown was “the darkest day in the history of Chinese independent film.” Started in 2006 by independent art critic Li Xianting,...
‘New Tactics’ Makes a New Digital Toolkit for Activism Strategy
The organisation New Tactics has published an online guide for new and seasoned activists who want to learn more about how to improve their strategic and technical capacities.
Digital Media Guru Headlines Highway Africa 2014
Highway Africa organisers have announced that Dan Gilmor will be the keynote speaker for the 18th edition of the conference which takes place from 7-8 September, 2014 in at Rhodes University, South Africa: The theme of the conference is Social Media – from the margins to the mainstream and Gillmor,...
Digital Reconstruction of Cambodia's Angkor Wat
The Smithsonian Channel has uploaded a video showing a digital reconstruction of Cambodia's Angkor Wat using 3D image technology. Angkor Wat (Temple City) is a popular tourism destination in Cambodia which used to be the capital of the Khmer Empire in the 12th century. It is also a massive religious...
Google Docs in Amharic: A Security Tool for Ethiopian Bloggers
Cyber Ethiopia explains why Google Docs in Amharic is an important internet security tool for Ethiopian bloggers and how to enable it: The Ethiopian government uses many methods to spy on bloggers, but by far the most invasive involves the covert installation of malware on their computers, which captures keystrokes,...
