Why SOPA will be a tragedy for Africa

By Frank Nyakairu

(This article is taken based on Create Common licence) – Thanks Endalk for sharing! 

A colleague of mine from Kenya highlighted in highly contextualized fashion about SOPA’s impact on Africa.Enjoy reading it and join the struggle againstStop Online Piracy Act

It’s been said that example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other. Perhaps the truth of this saying is attested in the infamous Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and “The PROTECT IP Act” (PIPA) are proposed laws in the United States. But Uncle Sam’s bill meant to stop online copyright infringements is bitterly opposed in what is probably the most detested legislation process beyond the United States. Debate is rife. Its contenders argue that, SOPA/PIPA will protect trademarks, especially entertainment giants by stopping online piracy of content such as music books and movies. To stop that, it grants the US Attorney General the right to inflict penalty on websites accused of hosting copyright content. It is also intended to crack down on offending websites operating outside the US. But prescribing SOPA/PIPA as a remedy for online piracy is way too strong that it will kill the ‘patient’. Africa, the world’s poorest continent, stands to be affected most.

Taking the Year 2012 for Granted: Lists

Photo credit: Quentin Leal (Vivian)

People usually like the end of December. Not that because they have accomplished a lot but New Year is coming with a message of Newness. We hear a lot of common expressions in these days that Time flies, getting old is scary, resolutions are insane but unavoidable, and what a year! ah!?

I love December. For me, the month which celebrates the end of the year is more important than the month which celebrates the beginning of the New Year. January makes me feel uncertain. It makes me feel I am challenging my principles on the power of now. I have all reasons to love January (even I was born in January 23^rd). Though, I am not ready to let go 2011 yet. It’s not over. Because I am counting a day – not a year!

Haile Gerima’s Sons of Payton

It is my first time to write a movie review. I watched Teza last night and it blew me out. To start with, this movie came out to the cinema in 2008 . Don’t take it on me. I am quite frustrated by the quality of Ethiopian movies and this one came for the rescue. The cinematography of this movie is wonderful and beautifully Ethiopian. The casting is fantastic. It is another proves that Haile Gerima is a natural filmmaker.

What does Haile want to tell us?

Ethiopian Blogosphere: the Smallest in the World?

Ethiopia is one of the least represented countries on the internet.  According to the ITU2009 report only 0.4% of the populations have access to the information on the internet. The traffic generated by Ethiopian sites has been limited. This makes the country less favorable to online businesses. Content is indeed king.

A few months ago Joern and I made a little research and we found out that Ethiopia had less than 20 bloggers in the country.

Contributing for GlobalVoices

I joined the GlobalVoices international bloggers community.  It is exciting to be part of the biggest blogging network in the world. Enalk and I are now analyzing and reporting major incidents and trending on Ethiopian social media.

My first post is about Aberash Hailay’s case. She is an Ethiopian Airlines flight attendant whose ex-husband, Fisseha Tadesse, stabbed both her eyes with a knife. 

Just Buddies

It is way dramatic.

In day to day life, there is some progress. Bad or good; High or low; Slow or rapid – But a progress.

The Chinese people say, “It doesn’t matter if you go slowly as long as you keep on going”. I can’t agree more. But the truth is I hate slow life. I hate it so much that I feel like choosing to stop instead.

How to Setup Online Radio Station

A few months ago I setup online radio streaming for EiABC FM which is running by students to the world.  The EiABC radio has many listeners online than inside the campus. Setting up the online radio is pretty straight forward and there are very cool open-source solutions for it. Sheger FM uses proprietary software. I don’t know how much they pay, but obviously it is expensive compare to $0.0 price what we get from a Linux world.

People as Tourist Attraction

I remember the time when I went to the South Omo. I was fascinating by the beauty of the landscape. Dimeka is one of the famous tourist destinations in Ethiopia. The plants are greener than anywhere else I have ever traveled. You see the wild life as if they are created for you. I smelled awesomeness; I saw the beauty of nature being completely naked.

Climate Innovation Center in Ethiopia

photo credit: http://www.blavish.com/

Last Wednesday I participated in a full day workshop about “designing climate innovation center (CIC) in Ethiopia. The workshop was organized by the World Bank Group’s infoDev. The theme of the workshop was “Accelerating clean technology innovation and entrepreneurship in Ethiopia”. Ethiopian CIC will address local barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship in climate and agricultural sectors.

The need for “Green growth” in Ethiopia is enormous. The western world’s previous philosophy of grow first and clean the mess afterwards doesn’t help much on the current environmental situation.

Sit And Wait, I Will Come And Eat You

The last few days were very hectic. I admit my desk is of full of assignments. I am accepting tasks more than I should. I knew I was busy when I missed the demarcation between morning and afternoon – my lunch.

Hectic with boredom is a catastrophe.

Look, I started to watch TV series . Not just a TV show. The Vampire diaries. You don’t even imagine watching such TV show when you have 58 days summer break. I did. The whole weekend long I was talking about the “originals”. I’m even having this crazy idea of stopping writing this blog and go watch the next episode. Who is going to protect Elena otherwise?