| Center of Innovation: Science, Technology and Peacebuilding Weekly News Roundup, May 16 - 22, 2013 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.**
Hackers Find China Is Land of Opportunity
Name a target anywhere in China, an official at a state-owned company boasted recently, and his crack staff will break into that person's computer, download the contents of the hard drive, record the keystrokes and monitor cellphone communications, too.
See the full article (New York Times, Edward Wong, 5/22/13) *NYT sign-up may be required to view the full article
[Return to top] U.S. Acknowledges Killing Four Americans in Drone Strikes
The U.S. government formally acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that it had killed four Americans, including militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who died in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. Attorney General Eric Holder named the dead U.S. citizens in a letter to members of Congress a day before President Barack Obama is expected to promise more transparency on national security issues in a speech on counterterrorism.
See the full article (Reuters, Mark Hosenball and David Ingram, 5/22/13)
[Return to top] Asia-Pacific Leaders Warn of Water Conflict Threat
Fierce competition for water could trigger conflict unless nations cooperate to share the diminishing resource, leaders from Asia-Pacific nations warned on Monday. From Central to Southeast Asia, regional efforts to secure water have sparked tensions between neighbours reliant on rivers to sustain booming populations.
See the full article (AFP, 5/20/13)
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "The Water-Security Nexus in Pakistan" on May 30 at 10:00am.
[Return to top] Drawing Palestinians and Israelis Together, With the Stroke of a Video Paintbrush
Leading the LED way in this field is Blake Shaw, a Berlin-based new media artist who came to Israel-Palestine hoping to empower Palestinians and create real-time collaborations across borders. His project, which is called "The Bridge," is an interactive multimedia platform that seeks to create - you guessed it, a bridge - across cultural and physical divides.
See the full article (Haaretz, Lolita Brayman, 5/16/13) *Haaretz sign-up may be required to view the full article
[Return to top] In Tomorrow's Wars, Battles Will Be Fought With a 3-D Printer
A 3-D printed drone is shot down by insurgents near a far-flung base manned by the U.S. military. It's a far-out vision for future combat, but at least one naval officer thinks it could happen. According to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Llenza, 3-D printing could arguably "upend the way we think about supply chains, sea basing and even maritime strategy." And by we, Llenza doesn't just mean Americans. The Chinese military is already bragging about how they are printing parts for their next-gen aircraft.
See the full article (Wired, Robert Beckhusen, 5/17/13)
[Return to top] Michigan Tech Sponsors A 3D Printers For Peace Contest
Michigan Tech is sponsoring a Printers For Peace contest that is encouraging designers and engineers to make amazing stuff using a 3D printer that can change the world for the better. They are looking for designers to build things that will help, not harm, people.
See the full article (TechCrunch, John Biggs, 5/17/13)
[Return to top] What is Technology? Cure or Curse?
The Egypt people, after four generations of military repression and kleptocracy, probably would've turned out in Tahrir Square without Facebook, Twitter and a working cellphone network. Did technology jumpstart the revolution? It worked much better than smoke signals as an organizing tool, but it certainly didn't drive the long-term revolt, or create the fuel for it.
See the full article (Forbes, John Wasik, 5/21/13)
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