GlobalSecurity.org is a company based out of Alexandria, VA that serves as a hub for security and intelligence news. They are considered one of the leading sources for developing news stories in the intelligence and military communities. The site attracts a large range of users all the way from retired military serviceman to AP reporters. Congressional members working in defense policy even use it as a research tool. A graph from the site shows that GlobalSecurity.org had an average of 15 million monthly page views in 2005. While the site may have a tacky appearance, the staff and senior fellows of GlobalSecurity.org are extremely qualified and credible subject matter experts.

GlobalSecurity.org organizes its content into six different categories: Military, Intelligence, Homeland Security, Space, and the Public Eye. Each section has recent articles about ongoing events, access to government documents, and links to various special interest areas within each category.

On top of providing these breaking news stories, GlobalSecuirty.org is rich in technical reference documents and reports. For example, you can find very reliable and accurate information about the different yields or delivery systems of the US Nuclear arsenal or find a complete overview of the military and intelligence operations throughout the world past or present.

I’ve really become an avid reader of this site over the past few months, and I highly reccommend it to anyone interested in security or intelligence news.

This is a cause and consequence paper that I did for my English class. I just thought that I would share.

“Tibet is Not Free! Tibet is Not Free!”

When China allowed the first foreign journalists back in Lhasa in a government-lead tour, on March 27, a sobering realization was reported to the rest of the free world. During the middle of an interview in the Jokhang Temple with the temple’s administrative head, a group of about thirty, young Tibetan monks surrounded the journalists and Chinese government officials. With tears streaming from their eyes, they shouted, “Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!” Before the journalists could even question the monks, the Chinese officials who were sponsoring the tour ushered the journalists away and quarantined the Temple for “investigation”. The thirty young monks have since been missing (Shai, Lhasa). By strategically starting prior to the upcoming summer Olympics, the recent outbreak of Tibetan civil unrest has brought the decades of Chinese oppression to an emotional climax. China has quickly responded with a strict crackdown on the protests and cut internet and media sources that carry the Tibetan cries for independence. These unfolding events highlight the reasons that Tibet has remained such a politically, socially, and religiously charged issue and also sheds light on the consequences that it has incurred for the fight of Tibetan sovereignty.

The root of the Tibetan independence issue began in 1950 when the newly formed People’s Republic of China claimed Tibet to be an integral part of China. The Dali Lama, the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, had recently assumed political leadership of the Tibetan government. Through measures of force, China annexed Tibet shortly after a Tibetan delegation signed the Seventeen Article Agreement which essentially ensured the “peaceful transfer of power.” The credibility of the People’s Republic of China’s claim to the Tibetan region is still controversial and widely disputed today (Moh). In respect to the 2008 riots, 1950 serves as a starting point of Tibetan people and PRC‘s relationship. Even after fifty years, Tibet’s brief period of independence is still a very vivid memory to the several generations of Tibetans that have grown up under the PRC’s rule.

During the 1950s, the PRC and Tibetan government maintained a peaceful but apprehensive relationship. Finally, after a failed rebellion in 1959, the Dali Lama was forced to flee to India where he created a government-in-exile and appealed to the international community for Tibet’s independence. The PRC quickly denounced the Dali Lama and installed the Panchen Lama, another Buddhist religious leader, as a figurehead (Moh). In a society where the Tibetan Buddhist religion reaches beyond social and moral code and into the political realm, the removal of the Dali Lama and China’s interference with the religious authorities incensed the Tibetan people. For several decades, the Chinese government actively oppressed the Tibetan Buddhist religion and slowly cut out integral parts of Tibetan culture. The Chinese government called it “cultural revolution,” but the Tibetan Buddhists called it “cultural genocide.”(Moh) Fifty years of religious oppression and interference has bottled up a lot of anger and frustration. This bottle was just waiting to be uncorked. In March 2008, the conditions were just right.

March 14, 2008 marked the largest and most controversial wave of protests that occurred in China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Four days after Buddhist monks demonstrated the anniversary of the 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule, violent riots ravaged the streets of Lhasa, the traditional capital of Tibet. The demonstration about the unsuccessful revolution transcended into a fierce and renewed call for Tibetan independence and sovereignty after decades of being under China’s oppressive rule. Within several days, the riots and civil unrest spread to Lhasa’s surrounding providences. The Tibetan protesters mostly targeted the ethic Han Chinese, the majority of all Chinese, with violence and vandalism. Many businesses owned by ethic Han Chinese or government friendly Tibetans where destroyed. In swift show of force, the People’s Republic of China deployed thousands of security personnel and paramilitary forces to disperse the rioters and deter potential outbreaks. The security forces quickly enacted a military state of emergency and tightened physical security in Lhasa and the surrounding providences (Oster, “In China”).

China immediately ordered the expulsion of all foreigners from Lhasa and enforced a week-long media “blackout” of Tibet. News about the protests and the military crackdown slowly trickled out of China’s state-sponsored media (In China). While it has always been know for a heavily-censored media, China did not hesitate when it completely blocked video sharing sites such as YouTube to anyone in China. Video footage of the Tibetan riots and calls to action had surfaced on these video sharing sites. By blocking these Internet sites from China, the Chinese government effectively eliminated a vital link between Tibet and the rest of the world. The Western media reported this action as an infringement of free speech. The attempted control over what news goes in and out of Tibet has resulted in many conflicting reports of what exactly happened. The total extent of the riots and civil unrest is still not completely known. China’s official figures put the death toll at 22 in Lhasa, but the exiled Tibetan government puts the total death toll at 140 after taking into account of the riots in entire region of Tibet (Chinese). The battle between Chinese and international press over censorship and bias, has united various Western media conglomerates in an outcry. The ongoing Tibetan incident has consequently been widely publicized in the Western media.

Another one of the more interesting circumstances of this outbreak of civil unrest is the fact that China will host upcoming 2008 summer Olympic Games. The Olympics has always been synonymous with human rights, and the Tibetan protests couldn’t happen at a better time. China’s quick crackdown and clean-up of the situation is an attempt to alleviate and minimize the damage the Tibetan riots have caused China’s “unified” Olympic image. However, it might be possible that some countries will boycott the Olympics because of the protests and China’s mishandling of the situation.

A long-term effect of China’s strict crackdown could also be further oppression of Tibetan society and culture. Because Tibetan Buddhist monks were the originators of the protest, Tibetan Buddhism may face future repercussions from the Chinese government. China may end up fully suppressing the Buddhist religious culture and ultimately place stricter laws in response to Tibet’s civil unrest. Sadly, the only course of action that China will most likely take in response to the Tibetan protests will be to take away more individual freedoms. China’s decision to cut off various communication mediums between Tibet and the rest of the world is a precursor to this path of tyranny.

Tibet is a vivid illustration of a battle over religious, social, and political freedom. The sequence of events that paved the way to the 2008 Tibetan protests was set in motion nearly fifty years ago. The upcoming Olympics and the anniversary of a failed uprising provided the perfect opportunity to unleash the rage of over fifty years of oppression. The Chinese government has only responded to the recent Tibetan outcry with further oppression and cultural genocide. The March riots in Tibet, however, are proof, yet again, of what happens when a government oppresses a people, its religion, and its culture. Oppressors can’t expect the oppressed to endure in silence. While it is a crime against humanity to take away the right to practice a religion, take away the right of free speech, and forcefully take a “home” from an entire people, the real cost of Tibet’s campaign for independence and sovereignty is paid by the innocence people that have been swept away by the tide of the ongoing Tibetan revolution. This recent squall may not bring Tibet’s independence or even be the last storm of its kind, but when the waves finally settle and there is a free Tibet, the damage inflicted by the generations of oppression and resulting conflict will be able to heal.

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A company in China has taken Google to court over copy right infringement. Google’s name translated into Chinese is “Guge,” the company claims to have that name patented.

According to the case, which was heard by a court in Beijing this week, Beijing Guge Sci-Tech Co. was officially registered at the Beijing Municipal Industrial and Commercial Bureau on April 19, 2006, but Google didn’t register the name “Guge” in China until Nov. 24 of that year.

—WSJ

Both companies claim that they were the creators of the word, and both say they have different meanings.

All that I have to say about this…these idiots in China are going to get what is coming for them. Google is going to unleash the wraith and fury of its thousands of patent lawyers, and harness the energy and power of its web presence to wipe this company of the face of the internet.

As they once said, “Don’t Mess with Russia.”

the new saying of the wise is, “Don’t Mess with Google.”

William Kamkwamba has a dream: to power up his country one windmill at a time.

-Wall Street Journal

Kamkwamba is a 20 year-old resident of Malawi a relatively small country in Africa. In the past couple of years he has devised a couple of windmills that power his family’s house: three light bulbs, one radio, and one television. At first, his family thought he was crazy with his idea of using a windmill to create electricity, but after studying a windmill in a magazine, he was able to build a 39 foot windmill out of blue-gum trees and used bicycle parts. With no prior education, Kamwamba electrified literally and metaphorically his neighborhood, and now with the publicity that African bloggers have gotten it, nation. What amazes me with this story is that it was because of African bloggers that this story was pushed throw the pipeline. After this news hit the blogosphere, a group of independent investors decided to fund Kamkwamba’s education.

Facebook Receives New York Subpoena Over Safety, Security

This article concerning mostly Facebook covers a recent development in security and privacy in the Facebook community. The New York Attorney General has subpoenaed documents related to Facebook’s sercurity and privacy over complaints of sexual solicitations.

Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker said the company will work closely with all the state attorneys general to “maintain a trusted environment for Facebook users and to demonstrate the efficacy of these efforts.”
“We strive to uphold our high standards for privacy on Facebook and are constantly working on processes and technologies that will further improve safety and user control on the site,” she said.

After setting up fake accounts of young females, the NY Attorney General’s office found that appropriate action from Facebook is slow if not non-existent. The subpoena also requires Facebook to submit their policies on user safety and claims made to consumers about the safety of the site.

Social network traffic up 11.5 percent; MySpace still dominates
A report from Hitwise, the US market share of internet traffic to social networking websites is on the rise (11.5% from last yea). Facebook is still the “Heavyweght” with 80% market share. Facebook has only 10%. While it may seem that MySpace has no chance of losing its crown, don’t forget Friendster a social site that was very dominate before MySpace came out. The market can change very rapidly over a quick period of time.

These two articles show the comparison between user growth and the activity of the US legal system. In the WSJ article we can see the American legal system in action as they gain traction in the grey-shaded area of information security law. MySpace has been in the spotlight because of online predator cases and been the main focus in the media. Now that other social networking sites has grown, such as Facebook (doubled in users in the past year), they are coming under closer scrutiny.

It is certain that the law and social network policy will surely meet many times in the future. The spike in user growth of these sites only increases the amount of attention that they will receive.

I’ve been getting RSS feeds from WebbAlert for about two weeks now. WebbAlert is Morgan Webb’s website and daily videocast, covering the day’s developments in tech news, video gaming, gadgetry, and digital culture. It’s engineered to keep tech-interested people current on the news and trends that move the industry with a small investment of just a few minutes per day. She does a great job of delivering tech news in a small, highly entertaining videocast. Here is one of her funny episodes.This particular episode doesn’t represent what she covers in a normal day. Morgan produces these, “viral videos,” once a week, and they are often more laid back and full of hilarious clips of the week than here daily videocasts.

Take note of the Facebook Off trailer by CollegeHumor.

Highlights from Ahmadinejad’s visit to Columbia University. Draw your own conclusions.

During a question-and-answer session, Mr. Ahmadinejad appeared tense and unsmiling, in contrast to more relaxed interviews and appearances earlier in the day. In response to one audience question, Mr. Ahmadinejad denied he was questioning the existence of the Holocaust: “Granted this happened, what does it have to do with the Palestinian people?”

But then he said he was defending the rights of European scholars, an apparent reference to a small number who have been prosecuted under national laws for denying or minimizing the Holocaust. “There’s nothing known as absolute,” he said.

He reiterated his desire to visit Ground Zero to express sympathy with the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, but then appeared to question whether al Qaeda was responsible. “Why did this happen? What caused it? What conditions led to it?” he said. “Who truly was involved? Who was really involved and put it all together?”

Asked about executions of homosexuals in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad said the judiciary system executed violent criminals and high-level drug dealers, comparing them to microbes eliminated through medical treatment. Pressed specifically about punishment of homosexuals, he said: “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.”

With the audience laughing derisively, he continued: “In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have this.”

Thanks to the online Wall Street Journal I was able to get access to the transcript of this panel very quickly after it was done. There is no comparison in the resources and functionality that WSJ Online brings to the news industry. WSJ Online offers a very resourceful video center that has a great user-interface. With the evolution of Web 2.0, Dow Jows is making big strides to keep up.

“The most highly-respected newspaper in the country.”