Resistance to thugs in the Iranian regime remains alive.
Showing all posts tagged internet
The importance of visual anonymity in times of crisis
What activists and human rights workers in repressive regimes have the right to demand.
Speaking about Egyptian revolution in Chinese media
During the recent Egyptian uprising, the Chinese regime blocked internet searches for the word “Egypt”, in case locals got any ideas about challenging the state. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to receive an interview request this week from Time Weekly, based in Guangzhou. During the interview a few days ago – when I was asked…
US intelligence is a contradiction in terms
The idea that Facebook and Twitter should be closely monitored by Washington to determine where the next Middle East revolution may occur simply proves the sheer waste of billions on the intelligence services annually. You have to laugh:
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…
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…
What Twitter has done to understanding the Arab earthquake
What a glorious and fascinating study. The inter-connectivity of Tweets on Egypt from the English and Arabic worlds. Kovas Boguta did it (via Mondoweiss). Read on.