TRIBUTES TO TED KENNEDY

‘Rest in peace, Ted Kennedy’ was the message sent in by millions of Net users to the microblogging platform Twitter upon announcement of the senator’s death from cancer at the age of 77.
http://twitter.com/#search?q=%22Senator%20Ted%20Kennedy%22%20OR%20%22Teddy%20Kennedy%22

Many paid tribute to him on the social networks; hundreds of users applauded his devotion to the American nation on his Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=ted+kennedy&init=quick#/TedKennedy?ref=search&sid=680367895.2691451981..1

Video share sites were stormed by Net users who recorded themselves to express their sorrow following the death of the last of the Kennedy brothers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JonC9n65vQU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsv6b5mLRA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPmKllwfvoU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJHrN-sdZkQ

Others wished to emphasise the heritage left by this senator, elected for the first time in 1962. This video blogger recalls the laws on civil rights and social protection that were adopted upon his initiative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jx6v8aaI9k

Similarly, the US Senate site published this 54-page document looking back on Ted Kennedy’s greatest achievements in fields ranging from education to environmental defence and national security.
http://kennedy.senate.gov/newsroom/press_release.cfm?id=AE8E3C6A-2D87-4445-B556-24664E324B1A

The video below, created for the Democrat party convention last year, has resurfaced in the blogosphere. It shows many representatives expressing their respect for Kennedy.
http://nwfilmforum.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/ted-kennedy-tribute/

Finally, the daily paper The Boston Globe has posted a series of interviews with specialists, looking back on Ted Kennedy’s life. This one comments upon his eternal good mood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eQm5Agv6IM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wATXsQujyzk

IMPRISONED BLOGGERS IN AZERBAIJAN

In Azerbaijan, mobilisation in favour of two imprisoned bloggers is intensifying as their trial, set for September 8, draws closer. The two cyber dissidents Emin Milli and Adnan Hadjizada allegedly used the Web to denounce abuses by the regime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J7HUFbpdHE

Arrested by police on July 8, they are going on trial for ‘voluntary physical violence’, an accusation that has scandalised the blogosphere since one of their friends has affirmed on an internet TV station that the two men were in fact attacked in a restaurant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pQzP7rBQ_c

A video petition has been launched online to call for their release. Net users around the world have filmed themselves to express support for the two bloggers.
http://videopetition.blogspot.com/

A local rap band has composed this song to pay tribute to their combat for greater democracy in the country, while denouncing the repression of opponents by the government.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q2TshIL_aA

This mobilisation was echoed in the streets of the capital, Baku, where a non-authorised balloon release was organised by cyber dissidents, who posted this video online.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbiEL2---bs

This blogger calls for another gathering on Friday in Washington, in front of the Azerbaijan embassy with the aim of increasing international exposure to this case.
http://eternalremont.blogspot.com/2009/08/protest-at-azerbaijan-embassy-in-dc.html

ONLINE ANONYMITY

It’s a verdict that's making a lot of noise in the blogosphere. A New York court has forced Google to uncover the identity of a woman blogger who an Australian male model has accused of making slanderous remarks about him. The decision is dividing net users, some of whom feel that the judgement constitutes a dangerous precedent which could put jeopardise online anonymity. The exposed blogger has announced that she will press charges against Google for breach of privacy.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jhp1HCHFOWkY9-A6Zj_3h8zAp0xw

VIDEO ELDORADO

Imagine crossing the US and Mexico to reach Central America, driving just on vegetable oil. This is what members of the ‘Video Eldorado’ project, who advocate eco-friendly tourism, are doing. The group of young video directors left Quebec on April 7 on board a school bus, which has been serving them as a mobile home and production studio. On their journey, they are offering video workshops to young people from run-down areas. A video of the adventure can be discovered on their blog.
http://www.videoeldorado.com/blog/

VIDEO OF THE DAY

British illustrator Simon Tofield loves cats and depicts them in short films which are then posted online. Nearly two million Net users have now viewed his latest ironic animation. The recipe is simple. A few lines of black pencil on a white background; two characters, a man and his cat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1qHVVbYG8Y