Syrian activists appeal to West to be "adopted"

Syrian activists appeal to West to be "adopted"

This site, allowing users to financially support the Syrian revolution, was launched at the end of December in Germany. Known as ‘Adopt a Revolution’, it allows private individuals and members of civil society to sponsor one of the many local coordination committees. Groups across Syria organizing on the ground protests and supplying medicine and communication tools to dissidents.

The platform presents around thirty local committees, including the Kurdish town of Derik, in the north east of the country. A group of activists attempting to raise six hundred dollars per month to finance their activities. According to the description, communications are particularly costly in this region as connections must pass through Turkey to avoid detection by the regime.

In three months, several dozen groups have seemingly been financed by around a thousand net users. The site also rejects government funding and refuses to finance armed factions. By supporting groups chosen according to their pacific resistance, the initiative aims to prevent the country lapsing into violence.

In an interview given to the magazine USA Today, the project’s spokesperson, Elias Perabo, stated that he still hopes the struggle will end just as peacefully as it began.

USA: the "Seamus scandal" deepens

‘The Seamus scandal’ is still making waves in the US, where Mitt Romney’s treatment of his dog has been causing outrage for several weeks. The Republican candidate for November’s Presidential elections is accused by a large number of citizens of mistreating his Irish Setter in the 1980s by taking him on a long distance road trip in a cage attached to the roof of his car. A scandal that the former governor of Massachusetts could do without in a region with almost thirty five million dog owners, representing about sixteen per cent of voters.

His political opponents were quick to exploit the story; starting with the very conservative, Newt Gingrich. The latter uses this campaign video to explain how the scandal makes a serious dent in the Mormon’s image and that it could lead to him losing the race if he were selected by Republican voters to confront Barack Obama during the Presidentials.

Meanwhile the Democrats were also quick to jump on the band wagon. The liberal organisation, ‘Move On’ made this satirical version of one of Mitt Romney’s campaign videos. We see a fake dog attached to the roof of his car, while the republican candidate continues talking in this car quite normally. A video which ends with the slogan: ‘Romney is bad news for dogs’.

And as a sign that no one is indifferent to Mitt Romney’s mistreatment of his dog, the White House has also reacted via David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s advisor. In a recent tweet, Axelrod posted a photo of the US Head of State stroking his dog in the Presidential car. A message teamed up with the following remark: ‘here’s how caring owners travel with their pets’.

Angelina Jolie’s leg goes viral after Oscars

On the occasion of the eighty fourth Oscars ceremony last Sunday, US actress, Angelina Jolie raised a storm by wearing a dress that almost entirely revealed her right leg. A part of her body that quickly became an online celebrity in its own right, thanks to the star’s fans. Consequently, Angelina’s leg has had its own Twitter account for the last few days, with the page being followed by over 37,000 subscribers. Many fake shots of her leg in improbable situations have since appeared online.

Now trending on social networks

The release of the Raspberry Pi, a pocket-sized PC with a case only just bigger than a credit card, is currently one of the hottest topics on social networks. But apart from its impressive performance, for such a small object and its very low energy consumption, it is its retail price of 25 euros, which particularly fascinates net users. And it seems already to be a success as many curious shoppers wishing to purchase one of these minuscule computers assert that retailers are currently out of stock.

Video of the day

Police in the city of Qionglai in the Chinese province of Sichuan have decided to post a musical promotional video online. In this recent posting, we see members of the police force carrying out their various missions with rap music playing in the background, praising the prowess and loyalty of local police. The video is a real hit on social networks, where it has already been viewed several million times in just a few days.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzU2MjA1MDE2.html