21st Century Statecraft - Diplomacy in the Age of Facebook and Twitter Senior Advisor for Innovation, U.S. Department of State Audio Moderator: This is afternoon we are pleased to have Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a role that blends technology with diplomacy. Senior Advisor Ross: Great. In the hours following the earthquake’s aftermath in Haiti, well, I should back up further and say that last week Secretary of State Clinton had dinner with a group of about 10 technology executives, one of whom was a 30-something year old entrepeneur, very successful entrepreneur named James Eberhart who is the CEO of a company called MGive, which basically allows for people to make donations on their cell phones through text message. In the hours after the earthquake took place in Haiti, at the direction of the Secretary of State we woke up Mr. I think this is remarkable. We call this 21st Century Statecraft. Thank you, and I’m happy to take your questions. Senior Advisor Ross: That’s a good question.
Japan syndrome shows why we need WikiLeaks The damaged third and fourth reactors of the Fukushima No1 power plant. Source: AFP IN December 2008, an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency pointed to "a serious problem" with nuclear reactors in areas of Japan prone to earthquakes. Recent earthquakes "have exceeded the design basis for some nuclear plants", he told a meeting of the Nuclear Safety and Security Group of the Group of Eight countries. The information was recorded in a US diplomatic cable and comes to us courtesy of WikiLeaks. Unfortunately, all this information, including the original cables, was released only this week, through The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian newspapers in Britain. But without WikiLeaks most of it probably never would have seen the light of day. The Japanese government did not completely ignore the IAEA concerns: it built an emergency response centre at the Fukushima plant. This week Julia Gillard said she had a lot of respect for whistleblowers.
The Great Firewall of America - James Allworth by James Allworth | 9:31 AM October 28, 2011 The Senate’s PROTECT IP Bill, designed to stop piracy, now has a matching bill in the House: E-PARASITE. It would have been tough to top PROTECT IP, but they’ve managed to do it. It contains provisions that will chill innovation. It contains provisions that will tinker with the fundamental fabric of the internet. It gives private corporations the power to censor. The timing could not be more exquisite. So what’s in the bill? First, the US Government will set up a blacklist of international sites that it says are infringing IP rights. Second, the technical way this is to be achieved is by tinkering with Domain Name Servers, the technology that translates “ into the unique IP address where a server is stored. Supporters of the bill say that it won’t target legitimate sites. Is this really what we want to do to the internet? But even this isn’t the most troubling aspect of the bill. This is terrible legislation.
Morocco youth leaders hone social media skills A new programme in Morocco aims to empower youths to take charge of their future. The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Alumni Network's "Be Heard Now" project provided young leaders with a week-long training course in social media that ended Friday (October 1st) in Rabat. Eighteen young representatives of civil society attended the course, which illustrated ways to use modern technology to initiate social change. Abdallah Yassine Boukrizia national co-ordinator of MEPI's Moroccan division, told Magharebia that young people are used to using web-based social networks to post photos or chat, but that they could also use them to run high-impact awareness campaigns. The training covered three areas: the fight against corruption, social entrepreneurship and promoting the image of Moroccan women. According to the event's organisers, the topics were chosen for their ability to affect the lives of Moroccans directly. Response to the training appeared positive.
Wikileaks : l’État, le réseau et le territoire « Mais où est-ce qu'on est ? Politique Published on décembre 12th, 2010 | by Anthony “ Infowar”, “cyber warfare”, “opération riposte”, “guerre de l’information”, … les titres couvrant l’affaire Wikileaks ont largement puisé dans le vocabulaire militaire pour décrire les événements qui ont suivi la publication des “cables” diplomatique par le site de Julian Assange. La multiplication des déclarations violentes de journalistes et hommes politiques à l’encontre de Wikileaks, l’acharnement des États a vouloir faire fermer le site en vain via les hébergeurs ou les fournisseurs de noms de domaines, et bien sûr la “riposte” des Anonymous par attaques DDoS, tout cela participe bien d’un climat de “guerre”. Mais quelle guerre ? L’Internet, un territoire étranger Cela dit, la menace terroriste ou les questions de droits d’auteurs que soulèvent les usages de l’Internet attirent l’attention de l’État sur le réseau. Même le gigantesque firewall chinois n’est qu’une chimère. Ce qui est inscrit sur le réseau devient le réseau
Hillary Clinton adviser compares internet to Che Guevara | Media Hillary Clinton's senior adviser for innovation at the US state department has lauded the way the internet has become "the Che Guevara of the 21st century" in the Arab Spring uprisings. Speaking at the Guardian's Activate summit in London on Wednesday, Alec Ross said "dictatorships are now more vulnerable than ever" as disaffected citizens organise influential protest movements on Facebook and Twitter. The US has pledged to back the pro-democracy movements that have swept the Middle East and north Africa since January. Ross welcomed the "redistribution of power" from autocratic regimes to individuals, describing the internet as "wildly disruptive" during the protests in Egypt and Tunisia. "Dictatorships are now more vulnerable than they have ever been before, in part – but not entirely – because of the devolution of power from the nation state to the individual," he said. "One thesis statement I want to emphasise is how networks disrupt the exercise of power.
Hillary Clinton and internet freedom (civilized) At the beginning of 2010, her speech coincided with the incident between Google and China. This time, Clinton waited patiently for positive results from the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions before launching into her diatribe. With a storytelling air, she started her speech by referring to the temporary Internet black-out initiated by Moubarak: A few minutes after midnight on January 28, the Internet went dark across Egypt. She did not waste much time before mentioning Neda, the young Iranian women who was murdered during the demonstrations against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election. What happened in Egypt and Iran – where this week again violence was used against protesters – was about a great deal more than the Internet. Without questioning Facebook’s role in the riots inspired by Sidi Bouzid or the importance of a “downgraded channel” in an isolated Egypt, Clinton’s statement seems obvious – but it is not trivial. Hillary Clinton's discourse in 2010... ... and in 2011
Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release May 19, 2011 State Department, Washington, DC THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. The State Department is a fitting venue to mark a new chapter in American diplomacy. Today, I want to talk about this change -- the forces that are driving it and how we can respond in a way that advances our values and strengthens our security. Now, already, we’ve done much to shift our foreign policy following a decade defined by two costly conflicts. Bin Laden was no martyr. Bin Laden and his murderous vision won some adherents. That story of self-determination began six months ago in Tunisia. There are times in the course of history when the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has been building up for years. The story of this revolution, and the ones that followed, should not have come as a surprise. In Sanaa, we heard the students who chanted, “The night must come to an end.”