"Last year, two researchers asked a group of volunteers to log into a
website 90 times over the span of ten days, using whatever password the
volunteers chose.
After entering their password, the website
showed the volunteers a short security code, made of either four random
letters or two random words, and asked them to type it. Throughout the
ten-day experiment, the site added more letters and words to the code—up
to 12 random letters or six random words—and the security code would
take just a little longer to be displayed, prompting the participants to
remember it themselves before it appeared.
At the end of the experiment, and three days after the last login, a
whopping 94 percent of the test subjects were able to remember from
memory their random code word or phrase, which were seemingly
nonsensical strings of characters like “zljndjjgjana” or meaningless
phrases like “gaze sloth laugh grace relic born.” Without the volunteers knowing, the researchers had tricked their minds." Read full article by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai in Motherboard. E.T.P. 3'
This week has been really tough, but only if you've been paying attention. I've realized how easy is to go through life paying little to no attention to what happens around you unless someone burst into flames right next to you on the Tube. Not that I didn't know that, but sometimes these things become more painfully evident.
Venezuela had a week-long nightmare, as well as Ukraine. I notice that most of the people that visited the blog during the last week were from Ukraine (second after the US), and I felt bad about not having anything about them in the News section. Is true that they have a lot of attention of the media, that Europe is not indifferent to what is happening with them (unlike Latin America to what is happening in Venezuela), and more important, to be perfectly honest I don't know much about Ukraine, other than the things I could have read in the newspapers, and I know, how infuriating and frustrating it is to read inaccurate information about your reality, interpreted by people trying to accommodate it to their ideologies and their structures, making no effort at all to really understand.
The News section this week features Ukraine including a couple of links that I think were helpful for me to understand what is happening and a lot of photos. And of course, Venezuela and its ongoing protests that as violence and censorship escalates are getting more attention from international media. Finally.
The rest of the edition is short, but sweet, as they say. Please have a look at the Culture section that includes one really sexy film list by the BFI; The Guardian's review of the new Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition in the Pompidou, and little more on Spike Jonze's Her. In Design, Business and Innovation there are articles about storytelling, Google Glass and the Toy Fair. And finally in our Science section is cyborg time.
Happy Sunday and happy reading.
NEWS
Kiev's Independent Square Before and After. Via The Atlantic.
Anti-government demonstrators remain in Independence square, on February 22, 2014. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) via The Atlantic.
The images that came from Kiev's violent clashes this week were devastating. By the time I'm writing this the situation is as follows: the government had agreed a pact to call early presidential elections, the quick formation of a coalition government with the opposition, and ruling out a state of emergency, but people remained on the streets, as presidential election promise was not enough to satisfy the protesters after the bloody clashes leave dozens dead. Ukraine's parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office and he denounces the actions as a "coup". His whereabouts are unclear. The barricades surrounding Independent square are still in place; the leaders of the paramilitary police who fought protesters have appeared on television to say they are “with the people”; the opposition leaders in the streets surrounding the presidential building, that used to be under custody of the police, say that Yanukovych is not coming back in there. Only the new president will step in. Have a look at the links below, and if you're from Ukraine and you want to share something with us, please do so.
The Economist: Ukraine's New Dawn. Shots called, now what? "As the outside world was digesting the deal between the Ukrainian regime
and the protesters, and the unexpectedly helpful role of Russia in the
European Union's mediation efforts, everything changed. President Viktor
Yanukovych fled the capital, Kiev and protesters who only hours earlier
had been dodging sniper bullets found themselves guarding the
presidential palace."
Photo from the 18F, this is the opposition demonstration in Caracas,
I love this image. Reuters via Buzzfeed.
Photo: Manifestations in London. The Procrastinator (some) Times.
Yesterday there were yet more manifestations in Venezuela, and also more repression. Táchira state is been fighting really tough and in isolation because the government shut down the Internet in the area, as well as electricity and water in some sectors, while threatening them in national TV with taking stronger measures. Also Venezuelans outside the country called for demonstrations around the world to show their support to the students, and claim for more international media attention so the world can find out about the clear violation to human rights that the Venezuelan government keeps inflicting on their people.
The Guardian: Venezuela's poor join protest as turmoil grips Chávez's revolution. "...As demonstrations sweep several major cities, even the people of Petare
have taken to the streets to protest again surging inflation, alarming
murder rates and shortages of essential commodities."
Gawker: How Venezuela became a "warzone"?Even as the near-apocalyptic imagery of Ukraine's violent protests have
captured the top of the news, Venezuelan cities have gone from dangerous
to "warzone" overnight. Boing Boing: Venezuela: 15 Years of Solitude. "The governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, amongst the most
corrupt and inefficient in the world. . . Very few authors (Will Dobson, Michael Penfold, Javier Corrales)
have studied Chavez as a new form of authoritarianism. Public opinion
in general, for the 14 years of the Chavez regime, viewed him as a
modern-day Robin Hood."
The answer to Channel 4, is yes. Venezuela is burning while the world
watches Ukraine, Sochi, memes about Whatsapp and the girl scout that
sold 177 boxes of cookies.
Caracas Chronicles: The other side of communication hegemony. "Just remember, guys, it’s the opposition who practice “media terrorism.” And Eurasia has always been at war with Oceania." (Added Monday 24F) The Telegraph: Venezuela, the lefts favourite socialist paradise is sliding into poverty and dictatorship. ¨How is Venezuela doing? Well, tens of thousands of protesters are in the streets, the army's been sent to crush revolt, an opposition leader has been arrested and supporters of the government just shot dead a former beauty queen. It's going to hell in a handcart, that's how it's doing."(Added Monday 24F)
The Daily Beast: Venezuela's Useful Idiots. "Defenders
of the Venezuelan regime would never allow the White House to arrest
opposition leaders and shut down unfriendly media outlets. So why the
double standard?" (Added Tuesday 25F)
The Huffington Post: Venezuela and the hypocrisy of the international left. "As students and the middle class protest for almost two weeks in the
streets of Venezuela, the international left remain silent. Why is this
wide swath of Venezuelan society protesting? Because of meddling from
the United States in preparation of a fascist coup, says Venezuelan
President Nicolás Maduro. Certainly lines borrowed from the Cuban/Soviet
handbook." (Added Tuesday 25F)
BBC: Venezuelans Stop Traffic in Anti-government Protests The BBC invite people who has witness the protests to email them at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk adding 'Venezuela' in the subject heading. to send pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large fil you can upload it in the website. (Added Tuesday 25F)
Fast Company: Why Venezuela is exploding, explained in simple charts. Even as political arrests intensify and injuries and deaths mount, Venezuelans remain on the street, making their voices heard. The reasons for their persistence are clear from Gallup's 2013 World Poll data - they see their lives and the economy getting worse, and they feel less secure than ever in their own neighborhoods. (Added Thursday 27F)
El País: La soledad de los estudiantes venezolanos. Mientras el país se encamina hacia una dictadura, en Latinoamérica
hay un apoyo al chavismo por parte de la izquierda derivado, en el
fondo, del prestigio menguado pero extrañamente vivo de la Revolución
cubana. (Added Friday 28F)
Esquire: Before and after: Venezuela on Instagram. 30 photographs of how normal life changed in a matter of days when
the people stood up to what they feel is an oppressive regime. (Added Friday 28F)
This is been a very tough week for Venezuela, my country. That is why the news section is entirely devoted to try to explain the situation and sharing links of photos, articles and videos. In our Culture & Entertainment section everything is House of Cards and lovely Ellen Page. In the Design, Business & Innovation you can see a list of the top 10 most innovative companies in advertising via Fast Company. In the Science section an interesting article about how the human brain has adapted to react to
emoticons in the same way it would to expressions on real human faces. And finally In Dog We Trust share some good news about Sochi's dogs and introduce us to the lovely Hashi.
Happy weekend, happy reading, and my brave Venezuelans, keep fighting!
NEWS
Photo: Carlos García Rawlins (Reuters) via El País.
Photo Leo Ramirez (AFP) via El País.
Photo: Jorge Silva (Reuters) via El País.
This past 12 of February there was a demonstration, mainly composed by students and young Venezuelans asking for fellow students who had been jailed after earlier protests to be freed, and also protesting against massive shortages in food and medicines, ravaged economy and one of the highest murder rates in the world. Armed groups supported by the government called "colectivos" fired their arms against the students killing two of them and leaving more than 20 injured. Security forces, police and military, instead of helping the civilians, fired tear gas, used water cannons and used extreme violence against the students, and the protestors in general. See some of the videos in YouTube here, here, here, here, here, here, here (yesterday afternoon Saturday 15), and watch how they even used a tank here.
Venezuelans only count with social media, powered by a non casually slow and intermittent Internet to keep themselves informed and to share what is happening. They use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and open platforms like 9Gag. But the government is trying to block that too. Twitter Inc. confirmed on Friday that the Venezuelan government blocked users' online images as opposition groups marched through Caracas for a third day. Venezuela’s main telecommunications company, CANTV, is government-run and handles the overwhelming majority of internet traffic.
Nobel peace prize and ex-president of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias, expressed his concern about the current situation and said that "Venezuela
can do all sort of narrative efforts to sell the idea that is a true
democracy, but with every violation of Human Rights committed, that
claim is denied in practice because it represses criticism and dissent.
Every government
that respect Human Rights should respect the right of its people to
demonstrate peacefully, the use of violence is unacceptable. Let's
remember Gandhi's words: and eye for an eye only ends up making the
whole world blind." Sadly, other Latin American leaders remained silent, or even worst expressed support to Maduro's repressive and anti-democratic regime. The power of cheap oil and "petro-dolars" cannot be underestimated.
What I've tried to do here is the only thing I can do as a Venezuelan living abroad, trying to make other people understand what is happening in my country. Despite the repressive efforts made by the Venezuelan government we are not voiceless due to the work of a lot of people that is trying to send our reality, our message, our pain, our indignation across.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for not being indifferent to injustice, repression and tyranny. And thanks for sharing, if you do it, the efforts made by the brave people holding their cell phones would not have been in vain.
There are links along this paragraphs, supporting my claims and my words, that even though are not neutral (how can they be?) they are supported by facts. Below there are other links, updated daily in case you want to know how the news are unfolding, and share, of course.
The night of the 19th of February was the most violent one that had happened
in my country in decades. The military, the police and the paramilitary
("colectivos") went out to the streets to persecute, assassinate, and
intimidate the Venezuelans. As the blog Caracas Chronicles says (first link) "this is no war zone: in a war zone you have two sides shooting at
each other. Tonight one side is doing all the shooting, the other side
is doing all the being shot at."
Have a look for yourselves, more recent articles are on top and with an asterisk the articles and videos you really really should read/watch:
