Iran: online music compilation to revive hope for freedom

Iran: online music compilation to revive hope for freedom

Three years on from the mass mobilization that began in June 2009 following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s highly controversial re-election to president of Iran, an event that sparked an unprecedented internal crisis in the Islamic Republic and the Green Movement now appears to have fizzled out. Something which local human rights group “United 4 Iran” is determined to change, by reviving support with help of Iranian artists.

To mark the third anniversary of the failed revolution, the organization has put together an online music compilation, comprised of some twenty tracks in English or Persian recorded by singers, rappers and other musicians, from home and abroad, wishing to voice their support of the anti-regime activists. The stated aim is to revive hope for the people of Iran and let them know they are not alone in their fight for greater freedoms. The album is available on the site “azadimusic.bandcamp.com” and web users the world over can download it free of charge, and then share it with as many people as possible, to raise international public opinion on the current situation In Iran.

This initiative aimed at rekindling the flame of revolution in the Islamic Republic also has the support of public figures including 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, South African Desmond Tutu. In this video the bishop urges the people of Iran to continue their fight for justice and says he is sure they will triumph in the end, but adds they will have to show patience before their goals are achieved.

USA: web users show solidarity with harassed bus monitor

It happened last week on a school bus in the town of Greece in the state of New York, in the US. The bus was taking high school students back home, when some of them started hurling insults at Karen Klein, the bus monitor. Horrible remarks about her weight, her hairstyle, and even her hearing aid… The 68 year old women tried to ignore the bullying, fighting back the tears.

One student filmed the scene and has since shared it on social networks; the video soon went viral, prompting an avalanche of reactions from outraged web users. Many have posted messages condemning the students’ cruelty and voicing their support of the bus monitor.

One Canadian man even launched an appeal for online donations so that she can take a well-deserved holiday. The 5 000 dollar target was soon smashed and over 630 000 dollars was raised in less than a week.

Many of the big television networks have reported on the story and interviewed Karen Klein, who has said how touched she is by this wave of solidarity. On some discussion forums the campaigning has taken a different turn. Local police say that some of the students have received death threats and have been subject to harassment, following the publication on the Internet of their names and telephone numbers.

Adidas cancels release of controversial "racist" shoes

A pair of sneakers featuring affixed orange shackles … when sportswear manufacturer Adidas unveiled its new model on Facebook, it sparked an outcry online. Many web users feel the shoes evoke the painful image of African-American slavery. In view of the uproar, Adidas has apologized and decided not to release the controversial trainers.

The worst designed websites of 2012

Every year the website Craypion d’Or awards prizes to the worst designed French speaking websites. Outdated sites, you wonder where they came from, now have their moment of online glory. And for the 2012 edition, the competition has been particularly stiff, as illustrated by the welcome page for Beuzeville council, winner in the “municipal web sites” category, and also the site for the independent milk producers association that takes home the Craypion d’Or for worst website for an association. You can see all the winners online.

Video of the day

"Joe the Plumber" became a household name during the 2008 US Presidential campaign, when he questioned candidate Barack Obama. He’s back in the news with this video, promoting his candidacy for the Ohio House of Representatives in the legislative elections scheduled for November 6. Holding a shotgun, he reminds viewers of the importance of the second amendment of the American Constitution that gives citizens the right to own a gun. Speaking out against gun control, he feels that if this law existed in Europe, then the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust could have been prevented; remarks that will most likely trigger lively debate.