April 8, 2009

Featured TwitPic: View from the Empire State Building


"Lower manhattan from the empire state building." (Posted by @natalieraymond, of Brooklyn, N.Y., April 8, 2009)

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Gay men executed in Iraq

Per New York Times, as many as 25 men and boys who presumably identified as gay have been found dead in Sadr City in the past two months.

According to the article, Iraqi police suspect the killers to be Shiite death squads as well as tribal and family members ashamed by their gay relatives.

Twitter users reacted:

  1. Salam Pax
    Salam (Baghdad, Iraq) @kuschkusch my worry is that these killings are almost socially acceptable. And I thought those clerics had bigger concerns than gay bashing
  2. Ryan James Greendeer
    ryanj81 (Wisconsin) Gays in Iraq face killings, cop crackdowns. Is it safe to be gay and live anywhere?? http://viigo.im/gpu
  3. joearf
    joearf ( Old Greenwich, CT )How effectively can you be an advocate for gay rights in Iraq if you're afraid to be killed?


Many Twitterers noted that the news of gay bashing in Iraq coincided with news of LGBT progress in the United States. Per Reuters, Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

  1. William Penn House
    WPennHouse (Washington D.C.) Celebrating the incredible progress on gay rights (Vermont, DC, Iowa), but praying for those in Iraq who are being persecuted.
  2. gerock
    gerock NYTimes front page 2 stories one Gay marriage in Vt the other Gays hunted and killed in Iraq


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U.S. crew regains control from Somali pirates

Per BBC, "The US crew of a ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia has retaken control of the vessel, according to Pentagon sources."

However, sources say the ship's Captain is still being detained by Somali pirates and Twitter users take note:

  1. DamoS
    felix85 (Ireland) A person aboard the vessel hijacked by pirates is telling The Associated Press that the ship's captain is still being held hostage.
  2. Cary Prewitt
    caryprewitt (Austin, Teaxs) Looks like the pirates couldn't hold off the Americans. They may have the captain though... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7990566.stm


Twitter users continue to follow story as it unfolds:

  1. Christopher M Chang
    cmac322 (Washington, DC)Americans are fighting back against those somali pirates, yea!
  2. Frankie De Soto
    franklogic (Texas) US crew drove off Somali pirates, that's what I'm talkin about, don't mess with the US. http://tinyurl.com/5vsjbd
  3. Michael Hinchen
    NewerDeal (Texas) Kick A USA!! Somali pirates hijack a U.S. ship. The hostages kick but and take it back.


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Moldovans protest government, come together through Twitter

Per the New York Times, more than 10,000 young people protested Moldova's Communist government Tuesday, clashing with the police and ransacking government buildings. They used Twitter and other social media to plan the protest, the Times reported.

Protestors created the hashtag #pman to rally Moldovans and to allow others around the world to keep track of the event, according to the Times. The tag has quickly trended to more than 2,100 tweets in two days.

Using Twitter search, #pman tweets only show up from 5:30 a.m. PST Wednesday. Hashtags.org shows an error when trying to track the tag.

The Twitterverse used the service to share information on the event.

Moscovici (Moldova): No violence protests in Chisinau, Moldova now. Fewer protesters in the main square. #pman



NotIndifferent: #pman angry young protesters are trying to break through police cordons, to the left wing of the government building



EthanZ (Pittsfield, MA): NYTimes argues Twitter leads to Moldova riots. Moldovan gov't blames Romania. Romania = Twitter? #pman



Bigubax (Grafrath): #pman Romania = Twitter? Well, Twitter = Freedom for sure. So hopefully soon we can say also Moldavia = Freedom! Actually World = Twitter

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Somali Pirates Seize U.S. ship

Per BBC, Somali pirates have hijacked a ship flying the American flag, officials report the attack occurred last night with at least 20 US crew members now being held hostage.

The pirates have seized six vessels in the last week, including a British and Taiwanese ship.

The White House stated that they would be closely monitoring the situation and assessing a plan of action.

African and American Twitter users react to this bold act of piracy:

  1. Rob Crilly
    robcrilly (Nairobi, Africa) sounds like the pirates have worked out how to beat the various flotillas of warships with new tactics
  2. Shoub Hee
    shoubhee ..(Seychelles, Africa) Somalian Pirates are now in the Seychelles water territory,,hijacking a fishing boats.
  3. Arun Rajagopal
    arun4 (Muscat, Oman) This is called 'inviting trouble into your own waters'. Somali pirates hijack ship with 20 Americans aboard. http://bit.ly/zhc1i
  4. josh banner
    bannernews (New York, US) somalia pirates hijack yet another ship, u.s. flagged. amazing how the greatest minds in the world cant solve this
  5. David R Pierce
    dillon69 (Plymouth, MA) NOW, maybe the Obama admin will something abt the Somalia pirates. 21 Am.s captured, incd a MMA grad. Abt time to stop them. No prisoners.
  6. Kevin Sigman
    LVBoilermaker (Las Vegas, US) How dumb are somalia pirates. "Um, didn't realize you soldiers were on board....we were just kidding...um...have a nice day"



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