Brazilian cartoonist inspired by Arab Spring

Brazilian cartoonist inspired by Arab Spring

A bowling ball representing the Tunisian revolution about to knock down the skittles which symbolize the former regime, Muammar Gaddafi trying to crush the Libyan uprising and also Hosni Mubarak pelted with shoes as he flees Egypt.

These cartoons are the work of Carlos Latuff, a Brazilian artist who has been lending his support to the various revolutions in the Arab world from his apartment in Rio de Janeiro.

The 42 year old posts his drawings on social media platforms; they are then circulated by cyber activists and often featured in news articles from all over the world. Demonstrators in Egypt’s Tahrir Square even made his cartoons into banners.

Although over the past few months, Carlos Latuff has been closely following the Arab Spring, and has condemned the bloodbath in Syria in particular, he does continue to comment, via his drawings, on other international affairs, like the recent riots in Great Britain for example.

But the artist made a name for himself online through his work related to the Arab World. He is a supporter of the Palestinian cause and has produced many cartoons strongly criticizing Israel, meaning he is regularly accused of anti-Semitism, something which he denies.

Carlos Latuff continues to devote a lot of his drawings to the political situation in Egypt and the military which has been ruling the country since the fall of Mubarak is strongly condemned. He hopes his cartoons convey the people’s desire for a quick transition towards a democratically elected civil government.

Burma: mobilization to free political prisoners

An interactive map identifying the locations of Burma’s 43 prisons, to highlight the inmates poor living conditions and to call upon the international community to take action … the map is the latest online initiative created by the organization “Free Burma’s Video journalists” which campaigns for the release of political prisoners and in particular jailed journalists.

The organization has stated that near to 2 100 political prisoners, at least 17 of whom are journalists, are currently languishing in jails across Burma. According to this former prisoner, both men and women are living in appalling conditions and are tortured on a regular basis. He goes on to say he spent 3 of his five years behind bars in solitary confinement.

Burmese activists are asking web users to join their campaign demanding the immediate release of these political prisoners. A petition has been posted on the site, calling upon the international community and more particularly the Association of South East Asian Nations to pressure the Burmese authorities to stop putting regime opponents in jail and lift media censorship.

Campaigners and activists have made great use of the web to try and persuade the government to give in to their demands. This Facebook page for example has been set up to coordinate a rally on the 9th September in front of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, to protest against the imprisonment of Hla Hla Win. She is serving a 27 year prison sentence; one of her offences was using an unregistered motorbike…

Online ressources to understand climate change

The "Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions" website in collaboration with the State of British Colombia in Canada is hoping to help web users gain a better understanding of climate change and the risks at stake. The lessons come in the form of short videos and infographics and explain the Greenhouse effect for example or illustrate where the effects of climate change are already visible. The lessons cover a wide range of issues, and are currently only available in English.

Fixmytransport.com

British web users can log on to Fixmytransport.com to play an active role in improving public transport in the UK … they can use the site to report any problems encountered on the bus or tram … like a public announcement mistake for example or a problem in a train carriage … Fix My Transport then makes sure the appropriate service receives the complaint, and by making the problems public and transparent, it means they are much harder to ignore.

Video of the day

American actor Tom Cruise is a definite thrill seeker … as we can see here, the film star took a break from shooting his upcoming movie to test drive a Formula 1 car around a circuit in Texas. And as if this was not enough, he then joined a professional pilot in a helicopter for some amazing loop the loops.