Summer Seriously Roundup
Yes, it’s that time of the year when the Northern Hemisphere goes crazy, and the Seriously studios have been hard at work gathering stories of all sorts of silliness. Here are two that piqued our interest.
Live free or die... by machine gun fire
It seems the Republican Party of Manchester, New Hampshire, has taken the tiny US state’s motto – ‘live free or die’ – a little too, ahem, seriously, when thinking of novel ways to organize a fundraising event. Not content with the run-of-the-mill bake sale or car wash, the Manchester Republican Committee decided to hold a ‘machine gun shoot’. For a $25 donation, party supporters can have a go at firing a range of deadly automatic weapons including M-16 rifles and Uzi submachine guns. According to event organizer Jerry Thibodeau, speaking to Reuters: ‘It’s a fun day. It’s a family day... It’s quite exciting.’ So what are you waiting for? Bring the kids along, hell, bring grandma, its fun, fun, fun for the whole family!
US vs Iran: the video game
Move over Mario, here come the Iranian Special Forces. A group of Iranian students behind the infamous ‘World Without Zionism’ conference in 2005 have released a video game where players attempt to rescue two nuclear scientists kidnapped by US troops. Associated Press reports that the game – ‘Rescue Nuke Scientist’ – requires players to enter Israel to rescue the hostages, kill US and Israeli troops and recover their laptops containing secret information. ‘Rescue Nuke Scientist’ is a response to a series of video games produced by the US company, Kuma Reality Games, ambiguously called ‘Assault on Iran’, whereby players attempt to lead US Special Forces to destroy a nuclear facility in Iran. Soon after the Iranian response came out, the Americans retaliated with a new game called, also ambiguously, ‘Payback’, which picks up the story where the Iranian version left off. Players discover that the nuclear scientists weren’t really taken hostage, but actually defected instead. Oh dear, how long must we wait until we see what the Iranian students come up with in response? Good thing it’s all just a game, right?
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
