Russian web users react to Nevski Express bombing

THE NEVSKY EXPRESS BOMBING
 
The theory that an attack was behind the Nevski Express tragedy has been confirmed by investigators. Friday night’s derailment of the train linking Moscow to Saint-Petersburg was caused by an explosive device. A tragedy with resulted in the death of at least twenty five people.

This passenger recounted the catastrophe on her Twitter account. After having reassured loved ones, she described the confusion and anguish that gripped passengers following the derailment.

Another passenger, who describes himself as being very lucky to get out alive, recounted his experience on his blog the following day. He tells how passengers helped the injured as they waited for rescuers, who arrived one and a half hours after the explosion.

This citizen journalist, living in the area, went to the disaster site to cover the rescue mission via his blog. And this is the video he made during the evacuation of the site.

For now, only a small neo Nazi group called ‘Combat 18’ has claimed responsibility for the attack on line. But experts doubt the ultranationalist movement’s involvement.

Many bloggers such as this man feel that Chechen Islamists are more likely culprits.

CHINA AND CLIMATE CHANGE

China has undertaken to fight global warming. The nation announced its ambition to make a forty to forty-five percent reduction in its carbon intensity by 2020, taking the year 2005 as a point of reference. An objective considered encouraging. And more and more Chinese net users are expressing their ecological consciences online.  

Last week, a street protest, announced on Twitter and social networks brought together several hundred people in Canton, in the south of China. The aim being to denounce plans to build a giant waste incineration plant, suspected of releasing potentially dangerous emissions.

And a growing number of citizens are becoming aware of the ecological challenges China must now face. In this video, broadcast by the Climate Stories blog, Yining, a student from Beijing explains what global warming represents for her, aware of its impact on her daily life.

The actor Jet Li is also committed to protecting the environment, and has teamed up with the climate group, presided over by Tony Blair. Its projects include providing solar energy lighting to 1000 villages. And in this message broadcast online, the star launches a call to his fellow citizens.
“It is not only the Government and industrialists who should act. I think that every human being on Earth should do his part”.

9/11 MESSAGES
 
The site Wikileaks, a kind of “anti-Big Brother”, specialised in exposing sensitive information, has published over half a million mini-messages apparently sent via pagers on September eleven, 2001 in the US. Messages intercepted illegally and sent by Government employees and rescue workers in particular. As the archives of US telecom companies were doubtlessly pirated to obtain this information, the disclosure of these messages poses serious questions about surveillance and respect of privacy in the US.
 

RENT THE RUNWAY

Wearing dresses by famous designers without spending a fortune is now possible. The site ‘Rent the runway’ allows fashion addicts to rent designer clothes for a price ranging from fifty to 200 dollars. You just choose the dress you want from the site and it will then be delivered to your door. You then place it in a pre-paid envelope and send it back once the party is over. The company pays for the cleaning. The system is only available in the US for now but could soon appear in other countries.

VIDEO OF THE DAY
 
Ten years since the film ‘Matrix’ was released in cinemas, fans of the Wachowski brother trilogy have decided to recreate one of the film’s legendary scenes from Lego. An impressive animation requiring 440 hours of work and which claims to be a perfect copy of the original scene. And for the most curious among us, the two creators have posted a ‘making of’ on the ‘legomatrix.com’ site.