News Roundup Archive

Thursday, June 30, 2011

USIP's Science, Technology & Peacebuilding Roundup

 

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Science, Technology and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, June 23 - 29, 2011

Table of Contents

**Click here to subscribe to USIP's Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding News Roundup,
which includes a special section on Internet and social media.**


The Virtue-less War of the 'Nintendo Bomber'
As unbridled use of drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan continues, another casualty of war may be democracy in the US. In April, the British Ministry of Defence published a study which for the first time gave serious consideration to the moral, ethical and legal aspects of the drone wars. The study advises defense planners that 'before unmanned systems become ubiquitous' they must 'ensure that, by removing some of the horror, or at least keeping it at a distance, we do not risk losing our controlling humanity and make war more likely.'
See the full article (Al Jazeera, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, 6/28/11)
Click to read "On the Issues: USIP Reports from Afghanistan," by USIP's Shahmahmood Miakhel.
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Sudan Seeks $1 Bln in Darfur Water-for-peace Bid
Sudan's government and the United Nations launched a $1-billion cash appeal Monday to help reverse the rapid decline in Darfur's water supplies, seen as one of the key drivers in the region's conflict. "We are here to transfer water from being a cause of frequent conflict to an instrument for sustainable peace," Salahedin Yussef, Sudan's state minister for irrigation and water resources, told delegates.
See the full article (AFP, 6/27/11)
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Technology is a Great Tool - but it Is People That Will Change Politics
New technology can help citizens create political movements, but progress only comes when they develop a sense of agency. The real change for Egyptians was not the technology of Facebook - it was the moment when one by one, people realised they were not alone. As the We Are All Khaled Said Facebook page accumulated thousands and thousands of people, young Egyptians for the first time realised that together, they had the numbers.
See the full article (Guardian, Jeremy Heimans and Time Dixon, 6/26/11)
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Google Ideas Think Tank Gathering Former Extremists to Battle Radicalization
Technology giant Google, having conquered the Internet and the world around it, is taking on a new challenge: violent extremism. The company, through its eight-month-old think tank, Google Ideas, is paying for 80 former Muslim extremists, neo-Nazis, U.S. gang members and other former radicals to gather in Dublin this weekend to explore how technology can play a role in de-radicalization efforts around the globe.
See the full article (Washington Post, Allen McDuffee, 6/24/11)
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Is the Inter-Korean Conflict Going Cyber?
South Korea has one of the most advanced IT infrastructures on the planet, offering the world's cheapest access to the fastest internet connection anywhere. Approximately 95 per cent of its near 50 million citizens surf the web - a statistic virtually unmatched by any other country. Despite being so technologically advanced, however, the country continues to suffer from ongoing cyberattacks, which authorities say are from North Korea.
See the full article (Al Jazeera, Sangwon Yoon, 6/24/11)
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "Informal Markets and Peacebuilding in North Korea" on July 19 at 9:00am.
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Pentagon Gets Rules of Cyber-War
Amidst the recent flurry of news coverage on hacks and hackers, President Barack Obama has signed executive orders that set down the rules-of-war for cyber attacks. James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says that while the actual threat of cyber warfare has been widely exaggerated, many countries around the world are adopting policies to combat such attacks.
See the full article (NPR, James Lewis and Mike Pesca, 6/24/11)
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A Free Press Helps Drive Scientific Progress and Innovation
The ongoing "Arab Spring" - courageously propelled by youth and individuals determined to have their voices heard and their human rights respected - is writing a new chapter in the region's storied history. Freedom of the press inevitably helps drive scientific progress, which in turn propels innovation and economic prosperity. Moreover, science and the accurate communication of science go hand-in-hand: good journalism, like good science, thrives on openness and a respect for truth based on evidence.
See the full article (Wired, Alan I. Leshner and Mohamed H. A. Hassan, 6/23/11)
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USIP's Media, Conflict & Peacebuilding Roundup

 

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, June 23 - 29, 2011

Media and Journalism

Internet and Social Media

What's New from PeaceMedia

**Click here to subscribe to USIP's Science, Technology and Peacebuilding News Roundup.**


Media and Journalism

Myanmar Warns Democracy Leader Suu Kyi that her Planned National Tour could Trigger Riots
Myanmar's state media warned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday that her planned tour to meet supporters outside Yangon could trigger riots. The commentary published in all three state-run daily newspapers said the government would not stop Suu Kyi but appeared to reflect government anxiety over her plans. The state press serves as a mouthpiece for the government, which otherwise makes few public announcements.
See the full article (AP, 6/29/11)
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Avoid Gaza Flotilla, Israel Warns Foreign Journalists
Israel threatened Sunday to bar for up to a decade any foreign journalist who boards a flotilla seeking to challenge an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Oren Helman, the director of the Government Press Office, sent a letter to registered foreign correspondents here asserting that the flotilla, scheduled to sail this week, was illegal and that participation in it, even as a reporter, was "liable to lead to participants being denied entry into the State of Israel for ten years, to the impoundment of their equipment and to additional sanctions."
See the full article (New York Times, Ethan Bronner, 6/26/11) *NYT sign-up may be required to view the full article
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "The Peace and Violence of Judaism: From the Bible to Modern Zionism" on July 7 at 2:00pm.
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Iran's Police Chief Criticizes Media Coverage of Rape Cases
Iran's chief of police has criticized the domestic media's "extensive coverage" of a recent spate of alleged rapes in the country, saying it would cause "a sense of insecurity in society," RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. In the past month, state media have reported extensively on three alleged cases of gang rape in the provinces.
See the full article (RFE/RL, 6/23/11)
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'Peacebuilding on Screen' Film Series Highlights Human Dignity, Compassion, and Courage in the Face of Conflict
It's an unlikely union: amid bullet holes and the bureaucracy of occupation, an Israeli Jewish woman and a Palestinian man fall in love. Their marriage, documented in "Love During Wartime," is part of a five-film series that highlights stories of human dignity, compassion, and courage in the face of conflict.
See the full article (Christian Science Monitor, Christa Case Bryant, 6/23/11)
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Internet and Social Media

'Internet in a Suitcase' Hopes to Send Repressive Regimes Packing
It looks like a normal suitcase, but it's anything but. Inside you will find a laptop, a small wireless antenna, flash discs, and CDs. Together they can be used to set up a shadow Internet anywhere you like -- say, in a repressive country where the government shuts down communication avenues in times of crisis. The project is informally called "Internet in a Suitcase," and it is being developed by a team of experts at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan research group, with funding from the U.S. State Department.
See the full article (RFE/RL, Sascha Meinrath, 6/28/11)
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Google Fears Web Crackdown after Arab Uprisings
Google chairman Eric Schmidt on Monday warned that the ongoing Arab uprisings could lead to an upsurge in internet censorship and an increased risk of arrest for colleagues working in restive nations. Speaking at the Summit Against Violent Extremism in Dublin, Schmidt claimed regimes were keen to clamp down on internet freedoms after the web was widely used by dissidents to organise anti-government movements in the Arab world.
See the full article (AFP, 6/27/11)
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Regulating the Internet in a Multifaceted World
Last month, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France invited Internet company executives, digital policy makers and others to the French capital for a special meeting. This week, it is the turn of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to summon the digerati to Paris. Like Mr. Sarkozy, the O.E.C.D., which analyzes the economic policies of the 34 industrialized democracies that make up its membership, aims to highlight the growing importance of the Internet in driving innovation and economic growth.
See the full article (New York Times, Eric Pfanner, 6/26/11) *NYT sign-up may be required to view the full article
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Dozens March for Freedom in Saudi Arabia, According to YouTube Video
Dozens of people wearing white shrouds have staged a peaceful march in the oil-producing region of eastern Saudi Arabia, demanding basic rights and the release of prisoners, according to a video posted on YouTube. The video recording showed about 30 men, many in Western clothes, marching with white shrouds that symbolize willingness to die as martyrs, in the mainly Shiite city of Qatif on Friday.
See the full article (Washington Post, 6/25/11)
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Seized bin Laden Cellphone Provides Possible Link to Pakistani Spy Agency
A new report heightens suspicion that Osama bin Laden may have been protected on behalf of, or at least with the knowledge of, Pakistan's intelligence agency. The cellphone of bin Laden's courier, seized in the US raid on his Abbottabad compound last month, contained contacts for commanders in a militant group with close ties to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), The New York Times reported today.
See the full article (Christian Science Monitor, Ariel Zirulnick, 6/24/11)
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Social Networking Encourages 'Silent Protests' in Belarus
They're called "silent demonstrations;" thousands of people clapping their hands during weekly protests in more than 30 cities across heavily policed Belarus. The applause is for themselves, for overcoming their fear of police beatings and arrest. The demonstrators have been organized by young activists in the former Soviet republic who've taken to Facebook and Twitter to bring thousands onto the streets to protest Lukashenka's mishandling of a serious economic crisis.
See the full article (RFE/RL, Gregory Feifer, 6/24/11)
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Google Ideas Think Tank Gathering Former Extremists to Battle Radicalization
Technology giant Google, having conquered the Internet and the world around it, is taking on a new challenge: violent extremism. The company, through its eight-month-old think tank, Google Ideas, is paying for 80 former Muslim extremists, neo-Nazis, U.S. gang members and other former radicals to gather in Dublin this weekend to explore how technology can play a role in de-radicalization efforts around the globe.
See the full article (Washington Post, Allen McDuffee, 6/24/11)
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Apple Removes 'Third Intifada' App
Technology giant Apple has removed a pro-Palestinian mobile application from its roster of hosted programmes after Israel complained it incited users to violence. The "Third Intifada" application essentially reproduced the content from a website of the same name - 3rdIntifada.com - which posts news and opinion articles about Israeli aggression and the Palestinian cause.
See the full article (Al Jazeera, 6/23/11)
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What's New from PeaceMedia

"Lost Generation in Swat Valley"
A New York Times video Produced by Adam B. Ellick on the Pakistani government's failures to rebuild any of the 159 fully destroyed schools that were bombed by the Taliban, and the resulting student outrage.
Visit PeaceMedia
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Click here to subscribe to USIP's Science, Technology and Peacebuilding News Roundup.

Did we miss anything?

 

 


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