Stories about Video from July, 2008
Jamaica: Patois Parlance
Transition Sunshine says that “all Jamaicans are multilingual, and while some may not speak patois, they all understand it”. Posted with video to prove her point.
Serbia: Bob Marley Monument; Serbian Reggae
Belgrade 2.0 writes about a monument to Bob Marley that's about to open in northeastern Serbia and posts YouTube video samples of Serbian reggae.
Kuwait: Flight Simulator at Home
From Kuwait, Mark links to a video featuring a Kuwaiti man, who has an actual flight simulator in his home. Check it out here.
Chile: Student throws water at the Minister of Education's face
In Chile, a student fed up with the repression and incarceration of participants in the protests against the new General Education Law (LGE) and the beatings and abuse sustained by her from the military during these protests complained to the Minister of Education at one of the Participatory meetings organized by the Ministry to discuss the LGE, discussion which ended with a jug of water thrown in the Minister's face as can be seen on the following video.
Morocco: Bring on the Gnaoua!
Every year in June, thousands upon thousands of tourists from around the world and Moroccans from all over the country flock to Essaouira, a small coastal city about 200 kilometers from bustling Marrakesh, for the annual Festival of Gnaoua and world music. The town, made famous by the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix (Castles in the Sand is rumored to have been written about Mogador), is a year-round hot spot for Moroccan musicians of all kinds, but truly livens up during the festival. This year, many bloggers were in attendance.
Saudi Arabia: Pious Wife Beating
From Cairo, Tom Gara posts a video [Ar] featuring a Saudi clergyman preaching on how to discipline wives. He adds: “This clip of a Saudi cleric explaining how to properly beat your wife is pure poetry – you couldn't make more perfect anti-Saudi propaganda if you tried.”
Japan: View from Ecuador on WaiWai “Child Hunt”
WaiWai was a column in Japan's fourth largest newspaper Mainichi, published for years in the English version of their website and featuring some of the most scandalous (and mostly fabricated) articles from Japan's weekly tabloids, translated to English with added “embellishments”. In recent weeks, the story of WaiWai erupted on the Japanese Internet, users reacting to WaiWai's negative depiction of Japan. One Japanese blogger living in Ecuador wrote a blog post expressing outrage at a WaiWai article about Japanese supposedly "hunting" for children in Ecuador.
Iran: Traffic in Tehran
Critical Distance blog has published a film about the traffic in the Iranian capital city,Tehran.
Colombia: Humane Group Protests Circus Animal Cruelty
AHURA, the Humanitarian Association for Animal Rescue, peacefully protested last Monday in Bucaramanga against the Mexican Circus, part of the Hermanos Gasca circus company who uses animals as part of their act. On their FaceBook cause page, they tell of how in Pereira, another city in Colombia, the protests achieved the liberation of a small elephant who will now be free of reported abuse and will stay in a zoo. Videos of circus animal abuse in the region have made their rounds on the internet, sparking protests and confusions as to what is really going on in the circuses that are visiting Colombia.
Argentina: Students chain themselves demanding a better school
In the province of Rio Negro near the city of General Roca in Argentina, the students of the CEM 106 are asking the government to follow through with their promises of solving the problems their school has. Videos of the open sewage drains in front of the school, of the 3 classrooms for more than 240 students and the septic tank which overflows in the backyard provide visible proof of their needs. In spite of the governments promises back in June to solve this issues, nothing has changed, and this has caused the students to chain themselves outside the regional office for Rural Education.
“No Car Day” in Southwestern Chinese City
Last year, Kunming, China took part in “No Car Day” (无车日). Now, the southwestern Chinese city has gone above and beyond by instituting a “No Car Day” every month. Kunming, home to many environmental NGOs, has Car Free Days on the last Saturday of every month. China's Green Beat gives...
Global Lives Project: Recording the lives of 10 people for 1 day
The Global Lives Project is a global initiative created to showcase the lives of 10 different people from all over the world by following them and recording 24 hours of their day in video. These 240 hours of material will be shown at the same time in an installation where a person will be able to walk through 10 different rooms projecting each one of their lives, and a central hub where the 10 screens will be seen simultaneously.
Iran: Peaceful protest movement against corruption
Here is a film in YouTube showing a peaceful demonstration against corruption in Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran, about 10 days ago.
USA: Al Jazeera Blackout?
When Burlington Telecom, owned by the small city of Burlington, Vermont (population 39,000), decided to carry Al Jazeera English, debate sparked amongst its residents, leading some groups to protest for its removal. Bloggers in the city and around the world have jumped on the story.
Russia: Documentary About Anna Politkovskaya
LJ user tapirr posts Masha Novikova's documentary about Anna Politkovskaya: “Anna, Seven Years on the Frontline” (RUS, with English subtitles).
Ukraine: Grassroots Activism
Many Ukrainians, fed up with a culture of lawlessness that is flourishing in their country, are becoming increasingly involved in grassroots activism. One of the latest rallies - Velonayizd ("Bicycle Attack") - took place in Kyiv on June 21, when nearly 500 cyclists, bikers and pedestrians gathered in front of the municipal police headquarters for a Critical Mass-type event, prompted by the recent deaths of at least two cyclists and the authorities' failure to bring the perpetrators to justice.
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