Does anybody take America seriously over its alleged free speech wishes? The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, praised the role of social networks such as Twitter in promoting freedom – at the same time as the US government was in court seeking to invade the privacy of Twitter users. Lawyers for civil rights organisations…
Bradley Manning is the hero
A fine and detailed investigation by ABC TV’s 4 Corners program this week on the case of Bradley Manning, the alleged leaker to Wikileaks:
Egypt’s internet kill switch; it will be used again and elsewhere
Internet users and activists in repressive regimes need to be extra careful, protecting themselves from prying state eyes: Epitaphs for the Mubarak government all note that the mobilizing power of the Internet was one of the Egyptian opposition’s most potent weapons. But quickly lost in the swirl of revolution was the government’s ferocious counterattack, a…
Washington loathes Wikileaks; Arabs love it
Hard to determine the real accuracy of such a poll but fascinating nonetheless: Six out of ten Arabs believe that the world is better off with Wikileaks and nearly three quarters would like to see the whistle-blowing website publish more on the Arab world. Support for Wikileaks and a demand for greater transparency emerged from…
Young Iranians are looking for a new revolution?
My Iranian friend, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, who currently works in London for BBC Persian and featured in my book The Blogging Revolution when we were together in Iran in 2007, writes that this week’s mass protests across the Islamic Republic signal a shift in focus of the opposition; It is clear that Monday’s demonstrations in Iran…
Is anybody in Australia being targeted for backing Wikileaks?
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy More here from one of those targeted by some of America’s leading corporate and legal outfits, Salon’s Glenn Greenwald.
What New Delhi can learn from Cairo
My following article is published by leading Indian magazine Tehelka: The Middle East is the region where global empires lavishly exercise their chequebook. Since the Second World War, America has bribed, cajoled and backed autocratic regimes in the name of stability. Israel, self-described as the only democracy in the area, has been insulated from the…
US definition of web freedom; content that we like
How noble is the Obama administration, pledging to support citizens in repressive regimes (many of which are run by US-backed thugs but why quibble with such details?): Days after Facebook and Twitter added fuel to a revolt in Egypt, the Obama administration plans to announce a new policy on Internet freedom, designed to help people…