David Axelrod praises Afghan voters; Warns of suppression ‘schemes’ at home

http://twitter.com/#!/LausDeo1791/status/452844240406867968

David Axelrod has praised the election in Afghanistan with the most asinine lack of self-awareness possible:

http://twitter.com/#!/davidaxelrod/status/452803936613715969

People in Afghanistan can defy death threats in order to cast ballots, but in the United States, “schemes,” which we assume would include voter ID laws, are an affront to civil liberties?

http://twitter.com/#!/ThePantau/status/452842418313105408

Oh, and by the way David, people voting in Afghanistan had to ::gulp:: present identification:

http://twitter.com/#!/BatTimODell/status/452806206461988864

http://twitter.com/#!/StrikeoftheMind/status/452806586138783744

http://twitter.com/#!/benwiele/status/452807151132475393

http://twitter.com/#!/Guido1104/status/452808228527542273

http://twitter.com/#!/WildcatDM/status/452810849770799104

http://twitter.com/#!/ThePantau/status/452837532133507072

http://twitter.com/#!/NoahWehrman/status/452840988923281409

Somebody call Eric Holder pronto!

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2014/04/06/pathetic-david-axelrod-hopes-u-s-voters-defy-suppression-schemes-praises-afghan-election-requiring-id/

David Axelrod praises Afghan voters; Warns of suppression ‘schemes’ at home

Afghanistan, David Axelrod, photo ID, vote, voter ID

Afghanistan Activists Urge Use of Social Media to Fight Politics

Free speech activists in Afghanistan launched Twitter and Facebook campaigns on Sunday to fight government media curbs as well as to dispel incorrect information being perpetuated by clashing NATO and Taliban claims.

Both NATO and the Taliban have used social media in the past to perpetuate arguments and campaign for individual causes. And Afghani journalists have been pushed against a wall with the government’s new, strict press freedom laws, leaving the public confused about the current state of affairs.

Media advocacy groups like Nai have decided to fight back, encouraging the use of social media to provide the public with a more reliable and a somewhat more accessible form of information.

In the past, social media has been used to fight conditions like limited women’s rights — a topic the country’s mainstream media can’t easily cover without widespread backlash.

“Social media is a free tool to use to transfer information without the influences of the government, warlords, or Talibs,”Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, executive director of Afghan media advocacy group Nai, tells Reuters.

Though social media provides the platform for the message, Nai is finding it difficult to gather the audience — only two million of Afghanistan’s 30 million people have Internet access, Reuters reports. This could be attributed to the previous ban on Internet Taliban forces put in place to make sure people were not viewing anti-Islamic material online.

It is even less common for women to have access to most social media accounts, but Facebook’s more stringent privacy settings have caused the social network to become the most popular among females in Afghanistan.

Khalvatgar says Nai’s mission is to convince organizations and government officials to make the use of the Internet and social media less taboo, and in turn create a larger space for dialogue.

“If we increase the number of social media users, we increase dissemination of knowledge. By giving people voices on social networks, you give them hope,” Khalvatgar says.

Do you think social networks have given you a stronger voice or a sense of hope? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Gersyko.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/22/afghan-politics-social-media/

Afghanistan Activists Urge Use of Social Media to Fight Politics

Afghanistan, Facebook, Twitter, US & World, world