Knowledge of notorious Joseph Kony has reached new heights, fueled by a highly successful viral campaign from the NGO In-visible Children.
This Internet-enabled dissemination is amazing to see, as spreading awareness of poverty in developing nations will certainly help to resolve the issues over the long-term.
That said, there is no easy solution to the problem. (more…)
After decades of bloody civil war, a new nation graces the world map: South Sudan. The African nation has broken free from the north to become the 193rd country on earth.
While severely impoverished states are often rife with political instability and inherent violence, Sudan has been particularly hard struck, with an estimated 2 million lives lost in the past 20 years.
Having survived such dire conditions, the Sudanese people are eager for change.
Freed from their oppressive government and blessed with rich natural resources, it will be nice to see if the people’s present jubilation spills over into rekindled optimism, helping to rebuild the war-torn nation and setting South Sudan up as a beacon for the rest of the developing world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Z6MUzf0mI
Over 200 people were killed and many more were injured during clashes that took place yesterday in Southern Sudan.
Last week, South Sudan officially voted to secede from the North, following a referendum last month which demonstrated the South’s overwhelming support for the split.
Now, in what some are calling a retaliation for the South’s bid for independence, strongmen from the North have been sending armed militants to wreak havoc on their neighbors to the south.
Still, even though a tragedy mars the birth of their new nation, the people of Southern Sudan remain determined and hopeful and are looking forward to embracing their newfound freedom.
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Sudan ranks 114th in the world for human development, meaning the bulk of the population must endure life in dire conditions. Sudan also owes $35 billion in foreign loans, with over half of that being accumulated interest.
(Powerful video from out of Egypt)
If you want to know what all the Arab hubbub is about, the Tuscon Sentinel offers us a comprehensive analysis.
There’s a hot piece making its rounds by Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge iterating the integral role new Internet tools have in empowering entire populations:
The copyright industry has discovered it. Now Arab League dictatorships are discovering it. Tunisia has fallen. Egypt is burning. Yemen, Albania, Sudan, Algeria, and Syria are on the brink of catching fire, a crimson glow in the night. When people have access to networking, they will not accept repression.
Early reports of Egyptian agents working undercover to incite chaos have not been substantiated. However, considering the way agent provocateurs exist in supposedly free countries like Canada, such underhanded government tactics can surely be expected from Egypt’s corrupt regime.
