Vietnamese dissidents sentenced to prison terms, the Web react

VIETNAM DISSIDENTS JAILED

Three Vietnamese activists, who had expressed their ideas online, have been sentenced following a failed appeal to non-parole periods in Hanoi. Already sentenced to prison terms in first instance, they were standing trial for propaganda against the communist regime. A one-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City which appalled human rights defenders.

On line the support committee of IT blogger, Nguyen Tien Trung, who was trained in France, denounces a trial it describes as unfair and is calling for his release. It also urges international organisations to put pressure on the Vietnamese regime.

On Tuesday a protest took place in front of the Vietnam Embassy in London. Dozens of protesters demanding the blogger’s release gathered.

Sentenced activists also include lawyer Le Cong Dinh, for whom the web also mobilised. This petition denounced an arrest infringing human rights. It called on net users to write to Vietnamese Embassies around the world.

A blog also followed developments in the situation. Photos taken the day of the trial, which was closely supervised, were posed online.

In June the lawyer admitted breaking the law. The video of his declaration is circulating on Youtube. Known for defending fellow human right militants, Dinh was principally accused of taking part in drawing up a new Constitution.

AVATAR OR THE CAUSE OF CHINESE DISPOSSESSED PEOPLE

Avatar may well have smashed Chinese box-office records, but the 2D version of the film is to be removed from many the country’s screens nonetheless. A decision allegedly taken following reactions caused by the film, particularly on line.

Local net users began comparing the US super production to the country’s social reality. The story, about humans who try to chase an alien tribe from its planet, was reminiscent to them of the evictions and forced demolitions carried out in the framework of large-scale building projects in the country.

A subject which is currently very sensitive online. The low levels of compensation and the methods used during evictions are denounced. As shown by this video, the authorities are quick to deploy dozens of men to oust a handful of reticent residents.
And some use desperate measures to prevent the destruction of their homes. An incident, filmed on a mobile phone, shook the Chinese web two months ago. A woman set herself alight in front of the dispatched demolition team.

Several bloggers are fighting these unfair expropriations. In this video, a blogger lawyer speaks to a man who, ousted from his home in the provinces, came to complain to the central authorities in Beijing. So far without success.

BERGENSBANEN

Norwegian TV channel NRK2 has decided to offer net users a gift. Following the success of the documentary ‘Bergensbanen’, it has decided to offer the whole film, created on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the eponymous railway, as a free online download. The film documents the seven hour journey minute by minute along the 496 kilometre railway. The channel, which has placed the documentary under Creative Commons licence, permitting it to be copied and modified, has also launched a competition for the best remix on its site.

TWITTED ART

Twitter’s 140 character messages are not always interesting. But they inspire an American artist. Each week Odessa Begay chooses an ordinary Tweet by a celebrity and transforms it into an artistic work. Recent words spoken by Nick Jonas, one of the brothers of the successful US band, Jonas Brothers, before going to bed have already inspired the artist. She published her work in an online Tweet museum.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

The decor reels, objects appear and disappear, trees move. This video entitled, ‘still moving’ makes viewers feel high or drunk. An effect created with a combination of stop motion and fade-ins added to the editing.