video

Video: Pro-regime university speaker shouted down by students

Team Observers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:11:45 +0100

Pro-regime speakers are regularly invited by University Bassij to speak before students - but since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election in June, they face increasingly hostile audiences. On November 16, one of Ahmadinejad's staunchest supporters was booed to silence with calls of "murderer" and "liar, go away!" But students often pay the price for their outspokenness.

Mullah Hamid Rasaei, a prominent Member of Parliament and one of Ahmadinejad's most vocal supporters, was invited to speak at the Imam Khomeini University of Qazvim, a town near Tehran. A few minutes into his speech, however, he is forced to abandon the floor after being drowned out by the slogans and shouts of angry students. He tries to raise his voice and rebuke the crowd for insulting him, but his words only fuel the student's anger. Cries of "Students will die but never give up!" ring out, along with slogans of "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to Russia!" (many opponents of Ahmadinejad believe that his government is being propped up by Russia). Meanwhile, Bassij event organisers shout back "Death to America!"

UK to follow Australian apology for ‘Lost Innocents’?

Julien — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:27:26 +0100

Clontarf Boys Town, outside Perth, Western Australia. Posted by Michael Gormley on his blog.

It was an emotional day for Australia on Monday when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologised to the estimated 500,000 children who were abused in government institutions between the 1930s and 1970s - what he called "The absolute tragedy of childhoods lost".

Instead of being adopted or placed in foster care, children aged between three and 14 years-old were placed in institutions where they are reported to have been emotionally, physically and/or sexually abused. About 7,000 to 10,000 of them were child migrants from the UK, known in Australia as the ‘Lost Innocents'.

After Rudd's emotional apology, there are growing calls for the British government to issue a similar admission to the 150,000 youngsters they forcibly shipped to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries. In 1998 an extensive UK parliament report into the programme revealed serious flaws and subsequently, grave consequences. But as yet, no British premier has delivered an official apology.

The Irish take on "Thievery" Henry

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:21:58 +0100

The Web is ablaze over France's controversial qualification for the World Cup, or to be precise, Thierry Henry's handball, which shattered Ireland's chances of taking part in the 2010 tournament.

Facebook and YouTube have been bombarded with cries of injustice from Irish users (most of them in the most humorous of manners, as is the Irish way). Twitter too, where the tag #thierryhenry has proved a huge hit, even attracting French fans looking to apologise for the striker's blatant misdemeanour.

Posted onTwitpic.

Posted on "Antoine’s mouth"

How to eat a fish alive

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:29:48 +0100

This video has been viewed over 120,000 times in the past week, drawing attention from animal rights activists and the food-curious alike. The fish is supposedly fried just to the point when it can remain alive, and until served, has its head wrapped in a wet cloth so that it can breathe. The video was filmed in a restaurant in China and posted to YouTube.

Pre-match Khartoum heating up

Team Observers — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:34:24 +0100

Slogans and partisan chants were ringing out in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, ahead of Wednesday’s much anticipated World Cup qualification play-off between Egypt and Algeria.

Thousands of football fans have flooded into Khartoum, a city little used to hosting events of such international scope. The stadium has a capacity of 41,000 spectators, but authorities have limited ticket sales to 35,000 for security reasons. Egypt and Algeria have each been allocated 9,000 seats for the game.

Destroyed by police, the migrant "jungle" is up again by nightfall

Team Observers — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:49:53 +0100

French police bulldozed a migrant settlement in Dunkirk on Tuesday morning and arrested around 50 residents. Our Observer there explains that the very same day, the immigrants started rebuilding their "jungle".

Aïssa Zaibet is a school supervisor at a school in Dunkirk. He's also a member of the People's Anti-Racist and Pro-Friendship Movement (MRAP). He's been helping migrants from the Loon-Plage camp for seven years.

The operation began at 7.30am. When I got there, the police were taking down the shacks and handcuffing the Afghanis and Iraqis who live in them. Bulldozers then tore down their makeshift homes. This kind of operation is absolutely pointless - the very same night, the migrants had rebuilt the camp in the same place.

Five months ago, the police did exactly the same thing. It's always the same. Those who manage to run away in time come back as soon as the police have gone and start rebuilding with materials that we've given them. The ones who are arrested are released after a week with an order to leave the country. France doesn't deport people on charter flights, because there's so much opposition [three Afghanis were deported in October however]. And so it goes on...

The migrants are trying to get to the UK. They come to Loon-Plage because it's 300 metres from the ferry terminal. There, they try to sneak into trailers or onto bars beneath vehicles to get across the Channel illegally. It works. It can take up to four months to get there, but they almost always make it.

Everyone talks about the ‘destruction' of the jungle. But it's only for show. It doesn't do anything."

Photos taken by Aïssa Zaibet for the MRAP movement.

Irate fans vandalised Egyptian offices while “police stood by and watched”

Team Observers — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:48:28 +0100

After last weekend’s tense World Cup qualification football game pitting Egypt’s Pharaohs against Algeria’s Fennecs (the Pharaohs won 2-0), irate Algerian football fans vandalised several Egyptian businesses in Algiers. On Sunday, Anis (not his real name) found himself near the offices of telephone operator Djezzy, owned by Egyptian company Orascom, when an angry mob stormed the site. According to Anis, police officers stood by and watched as violent youths went on the rampage in the company's offices. However, reports in Algerian daily El Watan claimed "anti-riot forces intervened to stop the vandalism” and made “several arrests". According to Orascom, the angry football fans damaged several million dollars worth of property.

(The most violent images appear at 3 minutes 50 seconds)

I came across a group of about 200 youths headed towards the Djezzy headquarters, in the Algiers neighbourhood of Dar el-Beida. I decided to follow them. They didn’t look like typical vandals, more like neighbourhood kids. There were a dozen anti-riot police vans stationed around the building. Youths began throwing rocks at the windows, but the police did nothing. So the kids began throwing bigger rocks, then breaking down the door, and still the police did nothing. The mob went on the rampage and vandalised every single floor of the building, but the police didn’t intervene until some of them tried to set fire to the place. It almost looked as if the police was stationed there to protect the rioters, not the building! The incidents began at 7.30pm and lasted until the following morning. Many shops were attacked in the city centre, but the company headquarters suffered the worst damage. If Algeria looses Wednesday’s run-off game and does not qualify for the World Cup, I can guarantee that there will be even more damage.

Not all Chinese Web users like Obama

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:57:56 +0100

US President Barack Obama was treated to a grandiose welcome in Beijing, where he met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Tuesday. The pair agreed to strengthen ties between the two countries. But on the Web, feelings were not so warm.

Forty-six percent of Chinese Web users say that they "do not like" Obama. Looking at online forums however, the extent of this dislike appears to be much stronger. For Lin20000xin, "This meeting with the American is stupid and pointless".

Contributor Wugu Shenlong says that "There's not one good thing about those American fiends". ‘Map' suggests that "The Senate has passed a law that means Americans have to kneel in front of a statue of Barack Obama when they get up and go to bed". There are also racist comments, like the following one from Milkman 007: The nigger is a cross-breed trying to conquer the world and mankind".

Source: hecaitou.net

Oubama from china-files on Vimeo.

Putin digs rap, not rock

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:07:58 +0100

We talked about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's dislike for punk rock back in August. The same can't be said about all types of music however - he spent Friday night at a live hip hop battle.

The event was hosted by Muz TV (a Russian rival to MTV). After Putin watched MCs, rappers and breakdancers doing their stuff, he took to the stage himself to talk (not rap, sadly) to the crowd.

Putin's speech:

"Graffiti is becoming a true art, fine and delicate. And breakdance is something peculiar. This really is propaganda for a healthy lifestyle because it is hard to imagine breakdancing having anything to do with drinking and dope. I must say honestly that those young people who are pursuing these kinds of arts in our country are bringing in their own, Russian charm."

Algeria-Egypt turns violent

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:17:39 +0100

Defender Rafik Halliche sustained a head injury in the attack. Posted on YouTube here.

The Algerian team bus was attacked by stone-throwers last night as it made its way from Cairo airport to the hotel where the players are staying for Saturday's World Cup qualifier with the Egyptian Pharaohs. Five players were injured in the attack.

Despite a heavy police presence, around 200 home fans emerged from the bushes by the motorway and hurled stones towards the bus, shattering the windscreen and several windows. The Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs expressed dismay over the attack in a press release.

For some weeks now hostility between fans from the two countries has been worsening both online and in the media.

Tensions are running very high for the Egyptians, winners of the 2008 African Cup of Nations (CAN). To qualify on Saturday, the team needs to win by a margin of at least three goals, while Algeria, top of group C, can still be on their way to the World Cup even if they give away one goal.