Al-Qaeda’s main Web forums have been offline for the past 11 days and counting. No government has taken credit, but if this “service interruption” actually is the result of government intervention, it represents the kind of intelligent response to terrorist radicalization that we need. The Internet is a double-edged sword. While Internet users in the West enjoy its free flow of information and easy social connections, terrorist recruiters equally enjoy its low overhead and vast potential reach. According to the website of Flashpoint Global Partners, which tracks al-Qaeda and related … More
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By Marian L. Tupy
I had to read this story twice and I still cannot quite bring myself to believe it. Apparently, a British judge sentenced a 21 year old biology student to 56 days in jail for making fun of a tragic near-death experience of a soccer player. As Fabrice Muamba, a Bolton Wanderers midfielder, collapsed in mid-play [...]
British Student Jailed over a Tweet is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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Reporters Without Borders notes that today is World Day Against Cyber-Censorship. For some time now, the organization has been highlighting cases of oppression and abuse of freedom of speech against the world’s online community. For example, it labels Syria an “Enemy of the Internet”: Bashar Al-Assad’s regime responded with violence when Syrians, inspired by the mass uprisings in the Arab world, took to the streets in March 2011 to demand democratic change. In the weeks that followed, the regime stepped up control of the means of communication and surveillance of … More
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Can Twitter get you killed? Can Facebook start and stop wars? Can terrorism be financed through Paypal, and might people arm themselves through eBay? These are the questions tackled in an online forum sponsored by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute examining the nexus of social networking and national security. The Heritage Foundation recently hosted a similar public event on the subject. With all the buzz in Congress over cybersecurity legislation, including the PRECISE Act, there is never a better time to bone up on what is going on in the … More
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The U.S. State Department has jumped into the world of online communication with a vengeance. January 2012 has been designated 21st Century Statecraft month, and Administration officials have been busy tweeting, blogging, doing online Facebook chats, streaming video, and just about every other social media platform imaginable. As a public diplomacy tool, the Internet has become a heaven-sent gift for Foggy Bottom. Clearly, there is a very determined effort underway to upgrade the image of the State Department from a rather staid and slow-pokey bureaucracy to a hopping, hip, and … More
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January 2012 is the U.S. Department of State’s “21st Century Statecraft Month.” What the State Department has in mind in this case is what former Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy James Glassman dubbed “Public Diplomacy 2.0”: using digital media to maximize outreach to foreign publics. Thus it is not a new concept but dates back to the second Bush term. However, the State Department has run with the idea, and today, believe it or not, State has more than 193 media accounts, and 100 embassies have Facebook or Twitter accounts. “Throughout … More
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