Why the Latest, Hottest Hacker Group May Never Have Existed. I’ll admit it. Like many of my colleagues, I’m a sucker for a great story. Sure, I run it through the standard fact-checking traps, and try to question and independently confirm each detail. And always, I remind myself that if it smells too good to […]
Turkey Battles the Internet
Dorian Jones | Istanbul The Turkish government wants to take more control of the Internet – and if recent events are a guide, it’s ready to battle to do just that. The government recently arrested 32 people accused of attacking state websites. Concerns are growing over Internet freedom in Turkey as the government proposes rules […]
Hacking the CIA
And Better Blogging Through Stripping Periodically we like to share a few of the stories and posts from across the web that caught our eye. There are no editorial threads implied connecting these items together, other than being interesting. #1: The Fight Over Airwaves. Several facts of war are as old as battle itself. They […]
Lying Liars Online
Old Questions About Truthfulness in the Internet Era Her name was Amina Abdallah Arraf al-Omani, Amina for short, and for several days she was headline news. As author of the blog “A Gay Girl in Damascus,” Araf wrote about the conflicts of living as a U.S.-born lesbian in Syria. But now she was part of […]
Saving Lives Wirelessly
Mobile Devices Are Saving Lives and Money Rosanne Skirble | Washington, D.C. World Health officials have released the most comprehensive global survey to date of how mobile phones and other wireless communication technologies are improving health care delivery around the world. The World Health Organization survey notes that there are more than five billion mobile […]
Who’s On Twitter?
Tweeting Isn’t Just For The Young – Or Rich Researchers at the Pew Internet and American Life Project have released their latest study of Twitter use in America. Their focus: who’s joining and who’s tweeting. The results may not be what you expect – and they’re already being challenged by Twitter’s CEO. More on that […]
Finding God Online
Has the Internet Made Finding Faith Easier, or More Difficult? Today I put a short prayer in the Western Wall. I also spent some time in a mosque studying the Muslim hadith with a group of students. Later, I plan on meditating at a buddhist temple. And all of this without ever leaving my desk. […]
Twitter and the Congressman
And The Lesson That Never Gets Learned As news stories go, the tale of Congressman Anthony Weiner and his recent online activities seems rather limited. It’s not a story about war, or disease, or a major environmental disaster. But given what it hints at – online sex – there’s little surprise it’s front page news […]
UPDATE: Syria Cuts The Internet
Why Nations Block The Web, And What May Follow UPDATE: 1500 hours UTC Friday: Earlier we posted about the near flat-lining of Internet traffic within Syria, wondering whether Damascus was adopting a tactic tried earlier this year by Egypt. As detailed earlier this year, Egyptian authorities squeezed the Border Gateway Protocols – the road maps […]