The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 18th of May Edition

EDITORIAL

Morning everyone, I hope the weekend it's been good so far. In today's edition of the Procrastinator (some) Times we have our usual share of Venezuelan news and an interesting article about Boko Haram and the lack of strategy in the Nigerian government. In the Science section, the collapse of the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet and its consequences via The Independent. In Design, Business and Innovation, news about the dead of the homepage (long live the homepage), a nice interview to Tony Gaitatzis, an expert in wearable technology in Dezeen, and sunglasses to see life through an Instagram filter ALWAYS. In Culture & Entertainment, a review about Frank, this curious movie based in a newspaper article and The Guardian To See List of movies from Cannes Festival. And finally reading In Dog We Trust by La Guía del Perro, you will meet the Barkhaus and Finn, Amanda Seyfried's super handsome dog.

Happy Sunday and happy reading!


NEWS

Illustration via The New Yorker.

Alexis Okeowo writes an interesting comment in The New Yorker about the Boko Haram situation in Nigeria. "Yakubu Kabu, a Nigerian civil servant and the father of one of the more than three hundred girls abducted from a school in the village of Chibok, was struck by the fact that the first real news of his daughter came from the Boko Haram terrorists who had taken her, and not from the government. To many, it was emblematic of the general mishandling of the case . . . The government has shown a notable lack of resolve throughout the four years that it has battled Boko Haram, and the fate of the Chibok girls has become a symbol of Nigeria’s weaknesses and divisions." Read full article in The New Yorker. E.T.P. 6'

Photo by Carlos Becerra via Amnesty International.

Photo via AFP.

This past Wednesday, police in Venezuela detained at least 80 demonstrators who were demanding the release of those arrested in recent anti-government protests. According to BBC: "Wednesday's march was called by university students to demand the release of more than 200 people who were detained after security forces broke up protest camps last week. The government said the camps were being used as bases to launch "violent attacks" and to hide "drugs, weapons, explosives and mortars". 'No proof.' But a university student at the march, Alex Gomez, rejected the accusations, saying "there was never a problem due to drugs, weapons, or alcohol". "We are demanding that they show us the reasons why they arrested them," he told the Associated Press news agency". Read full article in the BBC.

Here's what the AFP says about the incident: "The students, who were marching to demand the release of protesters arrested in recent days, massed in the east of the capital but the demonstration quickly became violent when they targeted the Tourism Ministry and riot police intervened. They detained around 80 people, Manuel Quevedo, commander of the National Guard regiment in Caracas, told AFP. Last week more than 200 people were arrested in police raids on encampments of protesters in Caracas. Most have since been freed. "Fewer and fewer people are heeding protest calls. Intimidation has succeeded," one of the young marchers told AFP Wednesday, requesting anonymity after a previous arrest.

This is the report of Amnesty International about what happened the 14th of May in Caracas: On 14 May security forces in Caracas detained at least 100 people involved in ongoing anti-government demonstrations. They are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment and their right to due process is at risk. Read full report (in English, Spanish or French) in Amnesty International, and have a look at the photos in their Facebook profile here.

Finally here you can have a look at the propaganda in official texts books distributed by the Ministery of Education, aimed to be used by high-school students, promoting key figures of the government, among them Hugo Chávez "Supreme Commander" or "Eternal President", cultural icons of chavism and government projects. Have a look at the photos (including the cover with the word "English" with a massive accent in the "i") in El Universal (link in Spanish).