Our weekly round-up of must-read stories you might have missed: Thousands to Join ‘Restore the Fourth‘ Anti-NSA Rallies, Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Streaks Ahead, The Coal Industry Knows That Enviros Are Winning, Solar Powered Plane Finishes Final Leg Of Flight To New York City, and the 2nd anniversary of South Sudan’s Independence.
Thousands to Join ‘Restore the Fourth’ Anti-NSA Rallies – July 2, 2013
Thousands of Americans will fogo the traditional Fourth of July backyard barbecue or beach trip this week, instead choosing to join nationwide rallies against recently revealed National Security Agency surveillance programs. The protests are being organized by Restore the Fourth, a 23-day-old organization that spawned on Reddit in reaction to the NSA revelations. Restore the Fourth’s long-term goal is ending what its members consider the NSA’s unconstitutional surveillance regime and reinstating the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures…
Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Streaks Ahead – July 4, 2013
ZANU-PF got a head start in the harmonised elections, landing at least 26 wards in various councils unopposed last Friday. The revolutionary party’s councillors romped to victory in Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Matabeleland South. The haul could be much higher, but information was hard to come by as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was still to release the full list of candidates who successfully filed their nomination papers with the courts. There are 1 958 wards countrywide. However, information at hand reveals that all 210 National Assembly seats were contested, some of them by Zanu-PF and MDC-T candidates only…
South Sudan Oyee Live! – Jul4, 2013
July 9th 2013 represents the 2nd anniversary of South Sudan’s Independence. What a whirlwind two years it has been. There’s a huge sense of national pride when I say ‘I’m South Sudanese’… and that pride is definitely backed up by memories of our journey towards independence from Sudan. In celebration of the 2nd Independence anniversary, there’s a great event (nothing like this has ever been done before) on Saturday the 13th of July. This event is especially unique because we will have three popular and talented South Sudanese artists performing for us in London. The event will also support THE JUBALINK charity…
The Coal Industry Knows That Enviros Are Winning – July 5, 2013
The coal industry is worried about environmental threats. Not threats like climate change, superstorms, or wildfires. Threats posed by environmentalists. In May, the American Coal Council—an industry group whose membership includes the biggest coal producers and consumers in the US—hosted a webinar called “What Environmental Activists Are Planning for Coal in 2013.” As the invitation put it, “Using social media and community organization tactics, these groups are savvy, motivated and may be off your radar.” The industry has begun to refer to this kind of strategy as a “war on coal” that aims to stop pollution from coal-fired power plants…
Solar Powered Plane Finishes Final Leg Of Flight To New York City – July 7, 2013
A solar-powered aircraft completed the final leg of a history-making cross-country flight Saturday night, gliding to a smooth stop at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Solar Impulse touched down at JFK at 11:09 p.m., completing the final leg of the cross-continental journey that started in California in early May. For Saturday’s final leg, the aircraft left Dulles International Airport a little before 5 a.m. The flight plan for the revolutionary plane, powered by some 11,000 solar cells on its oversized wings, had called for it to pass the Statue of Liberty before landing early Sunday at New York…
