media

(By Juan Cole) Trying to close down social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has been a desperate ploy of dictatorial regimes throughout the world. It doesn’t work very well, since typically users find workarounds. But what is interesting is why authoritarian regimes make the attempt in the first place. At midnight last night, […]

Climate Change

By the Way, Your Home Is On Fire: The Climate of Change and the Dangers of Stasis

contributors

(By Rebecca Solnit via Tomdispatch) As the San Francisco bureaucrats on the dais murmured about why they weren’t getting anywhere near what we in the audience passionately hoped for, asked for, and worked for, my mind began to wander. I began to think of another sunny day on the other side of the country 13 […]

Domestic Surveillance

When it is Feinstein being Spied on, Suddenly she Squawks

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) took to the senate floor on Tuesday to denounce the Central Intelligence Agency for spying on her staff as it undertook an investigation into the CIA torture program conducted under the Bush administration. The corporate media in the US refer to it as an “interrogation” program, often playing […]

Domestic Surveillance

Edward Snowden: The US is Undermining its own Cybersecurity

Juan Cole

SXSW: Snowden Touts Encryption, Swipes at NSA (via slashdot) In a Google Hangout with an auditorium full of South by Southwest attendees, government whistleblower (and former NSA employee) Edward Snowden suggested that encrypted communication should become more ubiquitous and easier to use for the majority of… —– The video: Edward Snowden and ACLU at […]

astronomy and outer space

Journalists should stop ‘balancing’ stories with Science Denialists: Cosmos’s Neil DeGrasse Tyson

contributors

(By David Edwards) Neil deGrasse Tyson tells CNN: Stop giving ‘equal time to the flat Earthers’ (via Raw Story ) Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of Fox’s documentary series Cosmos, said on Sunday that the news media should stop trying to “balance” the debate on scientific issues by hosting people who deny science. In an interview […]

Dissent

Censorship: Turkish PM, President tangle over Bruited ban on Facebook, Youtube

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) President Abdullah Gul has rejected a suggestion by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey might ban Facebook and Twitter. Nearly half of Turkey’s 77 million people use Facebook at least once a month and the country ranks 15th in the world for Facebook use. Turkey had banned Youtube 2008-2010. The good news […]

Crime

4 Darknesses: Internet being Manipulated, Deceived by Western Intel Trolls

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Researchers on online behavior have shown that internet trolls (people who use insincere techniques to disrupt conversations) really are psychopaths, marked by narcisssism, sadism, Machiavellianism. Professors Eric Buckels, Paul Trapnell, and Delroy Paulhus administered surveys to students and found that about 6 percent of them enjoyed messing with other people’s heads on […]

Domestic Surveillance

Not only Big Brother but Big Corporation is Tracking you Online Too

Juan Cole

(Via Techdirt) What Happens When You Marry The NSA’s Surveillance Database With Amazon’s Personalized Marketing? (via Techdirt) By now, most people who shop online are aware of the way in which companies try to tailor their offers based on your previous purchasing and browsing history. Being followed by strangely relevant ads everywhere is bad enough, […]

History

Manufactured Wars, Manufactured Military History

contributors

(By Nick Turse) It’s 2053 — 20 years since you needed a computer, tablet, or smart phone to go online. At least, that’s true in the developed world: you know, China, India, Brazil, and even some parts of the United States. Cybernetic eye implants allow you to see everything with a digital overlay. And once […]