Download the new Switched app for your iPhone

Skip to Content

AOL Tech

Celebrities, Web

Mia Farrow Goes on Darfur Hunger Strike, Posts Daily on YouTube


Actress, activist and former Woody Allen flame Mia Farrow is in the ninth day of her hunger strike for Darfur, which she has been chronicling on her own YouTube channel, the L.A. Times reports.

According to the Times, the 64-year-old, noticeably gaunt Farrow has committed to a three-week hunger strike, during which she will consume only water, in order to raise the public's awareness of the estimated 2.7 million refugees in Darfur (a cause she has long championed in her well-known blog). Late last month, according to the AP, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir banished 16 humanitarian aid groups, 13 of which had come from the international community to aid the impoverished, sickly and malnourished refugee communities. On April 21st, the AP reported that the U.N. estimated 300,000 had died since 2003. To put that in perspective, these tragic numbers are tantamount to the entire population of Chicago being left homeless and dying, or the entire city of Pittsburgh being put to death.

In a YouTube video posted on April 24th, Farrow discussed her preparation for and intentions with the then-forthcoming hunger strike.In the video, Farrow -- who apparently spent time in Darfur this February -- vowed to support "the 16 aid agencies that are sustaining more than 4 million people." Although she humbly and realistically admitted that her hunger strike couldn't do much on its own, Farrow did say, "If it provides a news hook for a newspaper so that they can talk about what's really important, then it would be worth it."

Well, we're talking about it, Ms. Farrow. Now there's nobody but ourselves to blame if we don't do something about it. [From: AP and L.A. Times]

Anti-Corporate Protests and Boycotts

    Motrin Ad Pulled Due to Online Protests
    In November of last year, mothers took to the Twitter-streets in protest of a Motrin video advertisement that, they claimed, belittled young mothers. In no time, Johnson and Johnson took down the ad, posting a letter of apology.

    Apple Pulls "You Can't Be Too Thin" Ads
    In 2007, after airing an ill-advised ad campaign for their new line of iMacs that featured the tag line "You Can't Be Too Thin," Apple received innumerable complaints, including one from the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. The ads were promptly pulled.

    Boycotting Sellers Dent eBay's Business
    In February of last year, eBay sellers banded in a boycott after the Web site laid claim to higher commissions on sold goods and eliminated sellers' ability to give negative feedback to buyers. In just one week, eBay's listings dropped by 13 percent.

    Students Stage Virtual Protest on Facebook
    Disturbed by HSBC's suspension of their free overdraft protection, collegiate customers of the bank launched a Facebook protest in 2007. Backed by the National Union of Students, the online protest won out as HSBC decided to maintain the policy.

    Facebook Lactivists Take Protests to the Street Over Breastfeeding Pictures
    Last month, self-described "lactivists" set up shop outside Facebook's headquarters to protest the site's removal of all images containing breastfeeding mothers.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Follow Switched on Twitter

Deals of the Day

Our Writers

Thomas Houston

Editor-in-chief

RSS Feed

Leila Brillson

Managing Editor

RSS Feed

View more Writers

Latest Reviews from CNET.com

CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

Top Product Reviews

  • Home Audio Reviews

    9.0 out of 10

    Definitive Technology BPX
    Works great with Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital. Full Review

    8.8 out of 10

    KEF KHT3005 (silver)
    The KEF KHT-3005 is one compact, beautifully designed speaker package with solid aluminum satellites that feature unique driver technology to produce incredible clarity. Meanwhile, the equally astounding dual 10-inch, 250-watt powered subwoofer delivers ultradeep bass. Full Review

    8.8 out of 10

    Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD (cherry)
    Six-piece home theater speaker package with slender towers; compact center and surround speakers; remote controlled subwoofer with adjustable equalization; gorgeous furniture grade real cherry wood or black gloss finishes; 10 year warranty; 30 day in-home trial; free shipping. Full Review

  • Cell Phone Reviews

    8.7 out of 10

    SignalBoost Mobile Professional Amplifier Kit
    The Mobile Professional Amplifier delivers a powerful signal boost to your cell phone. Also, it offers a compact design and easy setup. Full Review

    8.6 out of 10

    Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL cell phone signal extender
    The Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL significantly boosts your cell phone reception and is easy to operate. Also, it uses a wireless connection to your phone. Full Review

    8.3 out of 10

    Sanyo SCP-5300 (Sprint)
    Vibrant color display; built-in camera with flash; compatible with Sprint PCS Business Connection software; comes with extended battery; solid call quality. Full Review

  • Digital Camera Reviews

    9.3 out of 10

    Canon EOS 1D Mark III
    Extremely fast, 10-megapixel continuous shooting; very low noise; highly customizable; well-designed body with weather sealing; 3-inch LCD; abundant optional accessories. Full Review

    9.0 out of 10

    Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
    Very low noise, high quality images; 21.1 megapixels; live view shooting; pro-level build-quality and performance. Full Review

    8.9 out of 10

    Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II (body only)
    Tremendous resolution; professional body; many improvements over original EOS 1Ds; superior handling; optional wireless photo transfer. Full Review

  • Desktop Reviews

    8.9 out of 10

    Velocity Micro Edge Z30 (Intel Core i7)
    Best value among midrange gaming PCs; Velocity Micro's consistently high build quality; compact case makes few sacrifices; second graphics card slot previously uncommon at this price. Full Review

    8.4 out of 10

    Velocity Raptor Signature Edition Gaming PC
    One of the fastest PCs we've tested; a PCI Express RAID card helps media encoding performance; typically immaculate Velocity Micro assembly; strong, three-year warranty. Full Review

Featured Galleries

Lady Gaga at Monster
Lady Gaga at Polaroid
Geneva at Digital Experience
Motorola Backflip: Hands On
Hannspree at CES
Parrot AR.Drone
Chase Jarvis
Nathaniel Mellor
Mario Bros. Wii

 

Switched Desktop

Get the New Switched Desktop

Latest tech news, Switched mail, and more.

AOL Tech Network

Resources

Autoblog

DailyFinance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Urlesque

Fanhouse Main

WalletPop

Gadling