Social Media As a Weapon In Egypt

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Social Media As a Weapon In Egypt

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @08:16PM from the prepare-to-be-unfriended dept.

oxide7 writes "The internet and social media sites have become a battlefield between the Egyptian government and protesters. From the article: 'Facebook has at least two pages, Operation Egypt and one titled Egypt's Protests. The former carries calls to arms, asking for volunteers to mount distributed denial of service attacks. The latter has posted messages and videos, such as one that said the Ministry of Awqaf which is in charge of religious endowments, might work with the Ministry of the Interior to stop Friday prayers.'"

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Who says you can't facebook in egypt by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 20:28 · Score: 0, Funny

your mummy?
Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Renderer+of+Evil · 2011-01-26 20:33 · Score: 3, Interesting

The Tunisian uprising was called Jasmine Revolution. If the Egyptian thing pans out they'll assign some new unrelated color.
Set the naming conventions according to the social media outlet which was instrumental in fomenting it. For example:
Twitter Revolution in Tunisia
Facebook Revolution in Egypt
Github Revolution in Jordan
1. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Seumas · 2011-01-26 20:36 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Social Media has as about as much to do with revolutions as wearing a red ribbon on your lapel does with curing AIDS.
2. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 20:38 · Score: 0
  
  Anonymous Coward Revolution in Slashdot
3. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by a_hanso · 2011-01-26 21:05 · Score: 2
  
  I suggest we give ourselves a larger namespace. This needs to be the #FF0080 Revolution.
4. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 21:16 · Score: 0
  
  Meh ... I'll wait for the "Adult FriendFinder Revolution in Europe".
5. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by bronney · 2011-01-26 21:31 · Score: 2
  
  *likes*
6. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by isorox · 2011-01-26 21:59 · Score: 1
  
  Github Revolution in Jordan
  Looks like Yemen might be next. Something about a printing revolution?
7. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by MichaelSmith · 2011-01-26 22:00 · Score: 2
  
  Social Media is a tool for communication. Its important when planning a revolution to invite others. Hence the need to communicate.
  
  --
  http://michaelsmith.id.au
8. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by CharlyFoxtrot · 2011-01-26 22:11 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Yes but a facebook page that could have been set up by one person in a basement somewhere isn't really proof of a real grass roots movement yet it gets reported on breathlessly by the international media. "Oh look they have a facebook page and are using teh twitterz, OMG their government is doomed !"
  
  --
  If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
9. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by CharlyFoxtrot · 2011-01-26 22:22 · Score: 1
  
  All these fancy color names are just invented to fill our news cycle and give us some interesting pseudo news to talk about. If we should've learned anything from the color-coded "revolutions" in eastern europe it's that these aren't actually revolutions, just one part of the elite (ab)using popular sentiment to take over from the other part. Of course that would take some actual analysis and intellectual honesty to report on, so we get the fantasy feel-good version.
  
  --
  If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
10. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Seumas · 2011-01-26 22:30 · Score: 2
  
  People (usually the navel-gazing semi-incestuous circle of tech journalists and "social-media" gurus) promote social media as having some sort of nearly mystical power, rather than it just being a non-story that a device is used for communication in the same way a phone or a beeper or a posting on the supermarket bulletin board is.
  As a result, you have these countless morons who think they're "doing something" and are "good people" merely for putting the latest (widely publicized) missing child as their facebook photo or the Iranian flag as their Twitter photo or re-tweeting #supportturkey or something. People feel that clicking "I'm a Fan" or "Like" makes them part of some grand solution to things. Or even a tiny part of anything. If that were the case, then that fucking "I bet this pickle will get a million fans before Sarah Palin" (or whatever it was, I forget) would be the fucking king of the world by now and there would be a new amendment to the US Constitution about "I like the feeling of warm socks fresh from the drier".
  I mean, unless I'm wrong and some countries have recently decided to solve all their international conflicts or internal elections by counting the number of facebook fans they have.
11. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by copponex · 2011-01-26 22:49 · Score: 1
  
  Shows of solidarity are important, however they are expressed. Only expressing it through social media doesn't do much, but any awareness it raises is a hell of a lot more productive than being a little bitch and pretending that you're too superior to use social media to express yourself.
12. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by couchslug · 2011-01-26 23:02 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, let's go back to the Good Old Days of mimeographed Samizdat communication that required face-to-face handoffs.
  In MY day we fomented revolutions by passing wax tablets, uphill, during snowstorms, and we were grateful to have that luxury.
  
  --
  "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
13. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by copponex · 2011-01-26 23:14 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, heaven knows raising awareness does absolutely nothing for social movements. MLK didn't use any symbolic gestures or public demonstrations of civil disobedience to force the people denying his rights and the rights of millions of people to deal with him publicly instead of pretending that everything was just fine. Of course, that's total nonsense. The Civil Rights movement, the abolition movement, the suffrage movement, and all other successful social movements used symbols and acts of solidarity to raise awareness. It's one of the most essential components to true progress.
  Crawl back into your cubicle, or back on to your couch, and let the adults handle improving their lives through democratic action. The genesis for protest in Egypt actually was circulated on Facebook, with the page dedicated to a young man beaten to death for expressing his opinion, called "We are all Khaled Saed." Here's a blog with a good summary, and the very graphic picture that helped spark the protests.
  If you're not going to lend a hand, the least you can do is shut the fuck up. There's probably more meaning and emotion in this rough around the edges YouTube slideshow than you'll experience in the sum total of all your waking moments.
14. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by copponex · 2011-01-26 23:18 · Score: 0
  
  The Facebook page in question is here with about 450,000 supporters in a country that is well known for torturing dissidents to death on a regular basis. In a country where most people live on $2 a day, that's a lot of support, even if only half are Egyptian.
  If you have better ideas on how people should organize for social movements, let's hear it. Otherwise you're just pissing in Cheerios, and pretending that it means something.
15. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by heathen_01 · 2011-01-26 23:25 · Score: 0
  
  Luxury.
16. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by vegiVamp · 2011-01-26 23:42 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not saying it's a *better* way, but the traditional procedure is waiting until you're so sick of the regime that you just can't stand it anymore, and then run out on the street attacking random avatars of said regime. If the time is right for it, major parts of the populace will then also realise they've had enough and join you.
  If the time isn't right, however, well, let's just say your revolution will go out in a very brief bang.
  This has worked for centuries past, be it slowly and painfully.
  
  --
  What a depressingly stupid machine.
17. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by tehcyder · 2011-01-26 23:50 · Score: 1
  
  Social Media is a tool for communication. Its important when planning a revolution to invite others. Hence the need to communicate.
  You'd have to be a real fucking retard to use facebook to plan an actual revolution (excluding things like steganography, hidden coded messages or whatever)
  Personally, I'd assume that any Facebook pages saying "join with us in the glorious people's armed revolution" were set up by the government to catch particularly stupid people.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
18. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by tehcyder · 2011-01-27 00:00 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah, let's go back to the Good Old Days of mimeographed Samizdat communication that required face-to-face handoffs.
  In MY day we fomented revolutions by passing wax tablets, uphill, during snowstorms, and we were grateful to have that luxury.
  You jest, but at least there was a reasonable chance of spotting government spies that way.
  Now any fucker can set up a "viva la revolution" page on facebook, organise a cool-sounding midnight raid on the Palace, and when you turn up , it's just you and two hundred police men with no sense of humour.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
19. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by tehcyder · 2011-01-27 00:04 · Score: 1
  
  Raising awareness for peaceful social improvement causes is in a different league than organising a mass revolution against a tyrannical government.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
20. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by MichaelSmith · 2011-01-27 00:15 · Score: 1
  
  So what would you use? Remember you have to communicate with people young enough to want to risk their freedom to go against the flow. Personally I think twitter is the better tool because a lot of your messaging is going to be tactical: meet at this place at this time. Sure the government will see the same messages but they may not have the same fast response.
  
  --
  http://michaelsmith.id.au
21. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by chomsky68 · 2011-01-27 00:19 · Score: 2
  
  I mean, unless I'm wrong and some countries have recently decided to solve all their international conflicts or internal elections by counting the number of facebook fans they have.
  Hungary is a good example of that. A contraversial media law which can be used to curtail freedom of speech was passed by the government recently. An FB page was setup by those who are against it. In response the government setup its own page for the supporters of the law. The government is determined to have more fans of the page. And it seems that the government truly believes that if they get more FB fans then the law is justified.
  
  --
  I'm Not Antisocial, I'm Just Not User Friendly
22. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by chomsky68 · 2011-01-27 00:23 · Score: 1
  
  Personally, I'd assume that any Facebook pages saying "join with us in the glorious people's armed revolution" were set up by the government to catch particularly stupid people.
  I think that you are underestimating mankind's stupidity.
  
  --
  I'm Not Antisocial, I'm Just Not User Friendly
23. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 00:30 · Score: 0
  
  Too bad none of those revolutions used exclusively one social media service. Egypt tried to use Twitter and some are using IRC as well.
24. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by glebd · 2011-01-27 00:31 · Score: 1
  
  Github Revolution in Jordan
  GitHub revolutions are pointless, as they are easily reverted.
25. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 00:31 · Score: 0
  
  for your info Jasmine is a flower common in tunisia and is used to greet tourists on their arrival, i should know because i live in tunisia.
26. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by mito · 2011-01-27 00:39 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Jasmine is not a color in Tunisia, it is the national flower often worn by men over the ear.
27. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Jeppe+Salvesen · 2011-01-27 02:29 · Score: 1
  
  Say wut?
  Social media enables mass communication outside government control - IFF there is a sufficient number of people who knows how to circumvent government censorship then the government loses control of information. Once that control is gone, a large number of smart people are able to communicate. In a censored country, you are stuck with whoever you can physically talk to. Once you breach the communication barriers, these people are free to exchange thoughts and maybe plan and execute a revolution. Or at least a series of demonstrations that forces the gov't to change its position.
  Social media is a revolution enabler.
  
  --
  Stop the brainwash
28. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by CharlyFoxtrot · 2011-01-27 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  I'm a cynic I admit. Probably a lot of those supporters are indeed elsewhere in the arabic world and well-to-do (in a region where the vast majority are very poor as you rightly point out.) Combine that with the low barrier to entry and low risk of clicking a "like" button as opposed to getting out onto the street and protesting and I think it's not necessarily indicative of a broad pervasive movement of the people. I like the internet, it can bring people together and stir awareness, be used to organize people but I dislike the way things like this facebook page are given disproportionate importance in the media because it has the aura of hipness around it. The best way to form a real social movement comprised of a broad cross section of the population is probably still by going to the street.
  
  --
  If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
29. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 05:13 · Score: 0
  
  Crawl back into your cubicle, or back on to your couch, and let the adults handle improving their lives through democratic action. The genesis for protest in Egypt actually was circulated on Facebook, with the page dedicated to a young man beaten to death for expressing his opinion, called "We are all Khaled Saed." Here's a blog with a good summary, and the very graphic picture that helped spark the protests.
  If you're not going to lend a hand, the least you can do is shut the fuck up.
  
  Go democracy! Support free speech. Oh, and you, shut up, we don't need your kind of talk.
30. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by sglewis100 · 2011-01-27 05:14 · Score: 1
  
  Someone mod that up... come on, that's funny!
31. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 05:28 · Score: 0
  
  That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard on slashdot. Err... well, I guess not exactly, but it's pretty dumb.
32. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 09:25 · Score: 0
  
  oh you fucking retard
  do you really think the protesters care if the facebook page was started from someones basement or out of a fucking palace you moron?
  THE INTERNET TOOK A FUCKING LONG TIME TO GET RIGHT
  NOW PEOPLE USE IT FOR FREEDOM
  GET IT YOU FUCKING RETARD???
33. Re:Enough with "Color" Revolutions by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 17:44 · Score: 0
  
  This has nothing to do with "punishment".
  It's to deny a potential venue for discussion / communication / collarboration at what appears to be a key time to a major opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Other than the symbolic part by mvar · 2011-01-26 20:38 · Score: 4, Insightful

What is the actual purpose on doing DDoS attacks on some rarely visited government web sites? If people want to actually change things, they should really go out and protest against the government rather than sitting behind the safety of their monitors clicking endlessly until some crappy configured server goes down.
1. Re:Other than the symbolic part by heathen_01 · 2011-01-26 21:30 · Score: 1
  
  Do we have to travel to Egypt to show our displeasure, or is this an egyptian only affiar?
2. Re:Other than the symbolic part by DNS-and-BIND · 2011-01-26 21:36 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Well, to the modern type of person who attends protests, saying things is as effective as doing them. This has a long history going back to the 60s radicals. There's this idea of "the narrative" where real-life events are supposed to follow a script. In the past, framing events made them happen in reality (the story of US defeat in Vietnam, for example) but this only works in free countries with biased media. This is why so many people were baffled when Iran didn't fall..."I changed my web page background to green and applied twitter directly to the forehead...why didn't it work?"
  
  --
  Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
3. Re:Other than the symbolic part by syousef · 2011-01-26 21:55 · Score: 1
  
  Do we have to travel to Egypt to show our displeasure, or is this an egyptian only affiar?
  Well you can travel to Egypt and then blog about it, but they're using very real violence. I don't think your snarky status update is going to compare with a beating, tear gas, bombing or being executed. The truth is social networks only have any real power if people care about the issue, and then it is just a question of having a medium where one person can disseminate the information quickly to many other people.
  
  --
  These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
4. Re:Other than the symbolic part by mvar · 2011-01-26 22:02 · Score: 1
  
  They have embassies around the world. Also, talking out loud in Facebook may seem as a good way to protest but your "voice" is just one click away from being shut
5. Re:Other than the symbolic part by joemod · 2011-01-26 22:29 · Score: 2
  
  What is the actual purpose on doing DDoS attacks on some rarely visited government web sites? If people want to actually change things, they should really go out and protest against the government rather than sitting behind the safety of their monitors clicking endlessly until some crappy configured server goes down.
  During the past years the Egyptian government tried to reduce bureaucracy (which is huge) and corruption (imho) by introducing a lot of services e.g. authoring certificates, accessible from Internet. This was a big project in collaboration with Microsoft. So I suppose that by doing DDoS attacks on these websites the governmental sector will halt.
6. Re:Other than the symbolic part by copponex · 2011-01-26 22:50 · Score: 1
  
  Any show of solidarity will help. Even retweeting your support, as impotent as it may sound, will embolden the populace to continue to take action.
  This action is doubly important for Americans, since we have been propping up Mubarak for 30 years to achieve our policy goals in the region. If you give a damn about democracy, you can write your congressperson and senator and ask them to do the right thing and put Mubarak on notice that he will not have the support of the United States if he continues to suppress democratic will in Egypt.
7. Re:Other than the symbolic part by heathen_01 · 2011-01-26 22:59 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is that the social networks are being blocked. "sitting behind the safety of their monitors clicking endlessly" could provide some assistance if you were to set up ways to circumvent the blocks.
  Being on the street protesting is not the only useful action to perform.
8. Re:Other than the symbolic part by rikkards · 2011-01-26 23:03 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  That's pretty easy to answer though. If you look at both Vietnam (for the US) and Afghanistan (for the USSR), they both had external political backers who were supplying weapons. There were other factors as well but without said supporting through armaments, things probably would have been a lot different. These protests are pretty much doomed to fail without serious physical (and not digital) violence happening. Why did East/West Germany and Poland fall? Neither would have if the USSR had not been rotting from the inside thus resulting in less influence. Pretty much everyone in the countries involved wanted it to happen, even the politicians. In all of these cases the influential force is internal to the country and has a vested interest in making sure it fails. Remove that interest and things would change.
  I think until these protests are willing from the start to end in potential bloodshed, they are spinning the proverbial wheels. Granted it may persuade some over to their side and gets their cause some exposure but that can be risky when they come in the night.
9. Re:Other than the symbolic part by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · 2011-01-26 23:07 · Score: 2
  
  In the past, framing events made them happen in reality (the story of US defeat in Vietnam, for example)
  Do you honestly believe the US was defeated in vietnam due to US domestic anti-war protests? I find it extraordinarily hard to believe the viet cong was so irrelevant.
  
  --
  There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
10. Re:Other than the symbolic part by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 23:33 · Score: 0
  
  It is inconceviable that a superpower could be beaten by a bunch of uneducated rice eating peasents using asymetric warfare. The only remaining conclusion is that it was US domestic protests.
11. Re:Other than the symbolic part by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 23:37 · Score: 0
  
  Why would I want to support the Muslim Brotherhood insurgency which is simply using internet tools for propaganda and organization, as they attempt to violently topple the internationally recognized legitimate government of Egypt? Are you insane?
  As a side note, the protestors are going to be really surprised if they win, because the backers of these protests (insurgency, revolution, whatever) will first impose and ruthlessly enforce sharia law, and second immediately ban the very same internal communications tools they used to get the whole thing going in the first place. Cost of living will drop, sure, because life without having to pay for the banned entertainment and communications devices will in fact be cheaper. Watch for the satellite dishes to come down...
12. Re:Other than the symbolic part by copponex · 2011-01-27 00:01 · Score: 1
  
  Why would I want to support the Muslim Brotherhood insurgency which is simply using internet tools for propaganda and organization, as they attempt to violently topple the internationally recognized legitimate government of Egypt? Are you insane?
  You don't give a shit about democracy. Mubarak has been banning political parties for thirty years. He's been the dictator for thirty fucking years, murdering dissidents, suppressing popular movements, and impoverishing his nation with cronyism. If you think this is the result of free and fair elections, you really missed out on working for Pravda back in the day. Hell, you'd make a great Iraqi Information Minister too, holding up farcical elections as proof of Iraqi will.
  Oh, but Egypt is different. Because it's fucking convenient for your bullshit worldview. I'm not buying it.
13. Re:Other than the symbolic part by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 00:10 · Score: 0
  
  Fuck democracy.
  As bad as Mubarak is, the Islamic Brotherhood is an order of magnitude worse. If democracy can result in the Islamic Brotherhood gaining any amount of power, I'd rather see democracy abolished worldwide.
14. Re:Other than the symbolic part by tehcyder · 2011-01-27 00:10 · Score: 1
  
  Do you honestly believe the US was defeated in vietnam due to US domestic anti-war protests? I find it extraordinarily hard to believe the viet cong was so irrelevant.
  It is difficult in a democraic country to continue with a war that has mass opposition, which is where the Vietnam conflict got to.
  In the case of the Iraq conflict, I suppose there were just not enough people making enough fuss on a regular basis.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
15. Re:Other than the symbolic part by grassy_knoll · 2011-01-27 01:01 · Score: 2
  
  What's a major difference, domestically, between those two conflicts?
  Conscription.
  Seems likely that the chance of being forced to serve in the military in a combat zone influenced anti-war sentiment during the Vietnam era. Since then, the US has effectively eliminated conscription, shifting to an all volunteer force.
  
  --
  A Human Right
16. Re:Other than the symbolic part by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 01:24 · Score: 0
  
  Can someone please explain the appeal of protesting to me - specifically the appeal of protesting anything in the United States, where even the poorest citizens are in the top 10% of the world's income earners? I'm usually too busy getting well-paid at a job I like and reaping the benefits of hard work and a life well-lived to give a shit about protesting...
17. Re:Other than the symbolic part by stdarg · 2011-01-27 01:48 · Score: 1
  
  If you give a damn about democracy, you can write your congressperson and senator and ask them to do the right thing and put Mubarak on notice that he will not have the support of the United States if he continues to suppress democratic will in Egypt.
  You're confused. You can "give a damn" about democracy, but still not support Islamist movements against Western allies. You understand that the world is not black and white, right?
18. Re:Other than the symbolic part by copponex · 2011-01-27 02:01 · Score: 1
  
  Either you support someone's right to vote, or you do not. As Lincoln said, "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent." Frankly, the idea that any American would support the financial and political backing of a man who murders people who disagree with him is the furthest thing from the American ideal that I can even conceive of.
  From the rest of the world, with all sincerity, stop being such a piece of shit. Stop supporting murderous dictatorships for your own cynical desires for power, money, and hegemony. Stop impoverishing people you don't know because you're afraid of their opinions. It's truly disgusting.
19. Re:Other than the symbolic part by DNS-and-BIND · 2011-01-27 03:09 · Score: 2
  
  The Viet Cong were destroyed in the 1968 Tet Offensive. After that point, they were irrelevant. TV news cast the Tet Offensive as a defeat, and made it so.
  The US withdrew in 1972. Congress cut off all help to South Vietnam to spite Nixon because of Watergate. The South Vietnamese were not in bad shape when the US left.
  
  --
  Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
20. Re:Other than the symbolic part by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 08:48 · Score: 0
  
  "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."
  And that includes majorities that vote for a less free society. A vote to restrict freedom, to institute a tyranny or theocracy, doesn't need to be respected.
21. Re:Other than the symbolic part by luis_a_espinal · 2011-01-27 14:23 · Score: 1
  
  Fuck democracy.
  As bad as Mubarak is, the Islamic Brotherhood is an order of magnitude worse. If democracy can result in the Islamic Brotherhood gaining any amount of power, I'd rather see democracy abolished worldwide.
  Not necessarily. I know that anything with "Islamic" on its name ends up being equated to Osama Bin Laden among the apple pie crowd, but give me a fucking break, the Islamic Brotherhood (as it exists in Egypt) is hardly a monolithic religious/political entity. 10% of the population is Christian, and a large segment of the Muslim population is secular (secular being a relative term.) The fear of ZOMG! Sharia as a result of the Muslin Brotherhood winning elections (a possible, but still not sure outcome) is blown way out of proportion buddy.
22. Re:Other than the symbolic part by stdarg · 2011-01-28 05:38 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know why I'm bothering to respond. You're an idiot.
  
  Either you support someone's right to vote, or you do not.
  Nope! In the past, people have said stuff like "I support someone's right to vote as long as they are men." Today we say "I support someone's right to vote if they are 18+ and not a felon."
  So.. you're wrong. It's not either/or.
  
  Frankly, the idea that any American would support the financial and political backing of a man who murders people who disagree with him is the furthest thing from the American ideal that I can even conceive of.
  You're ill-informed. It's not because people disagree with him, it's because they are Islamic fascists who want to kill him and terrorize the whole world.
  
  Stop impoverishing people you don't know because you're afraid of their opinions.
  LOL, what?? Sad really. What you should really do is talk to the radical Muslims and ask them to stop impoverishing themselves and their fellow countrymen because they are afraid of other people's freedom.
I can't believe how callous these posts are by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 21:47 · Score: 0

let us unite in our support of our starving brothers in Egypt!
1. Re:I can't believe how callous these posts are by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 21:55 · Score: 0
  
  in most cases at the moment, not so much starving as ass-beaten or killed by police but yeah
Technology and totalitarianism by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 22:05 · Score: 0

I love the fact that the internet and mobile phones make things so much harder for totalitarian governments to stay in control.
These governments try to crack down, but there are just too many gaps for information to still get through.
No wonder Kim Jong-Il doesn't allow cellphones and the internet in North Korea.
A BATTLEFIELD !! HOWZIS FOR A BATTLEFIELD !! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 23:35 · Score: 0

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises - no demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield
You're beggin' me to go, you're makin' me stay
Why do you hurt me so bad
It would help me to know
Do I stand in your way, or am I the best thing you've had
Believe me, believe me, I can't tell you why
But I'm trapped by your love, and I'm chained to your side
We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises - no demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield
We're losing control
Will you turn me away or touch me deep inside
And before this gets old, will it still feel the same
There's no way this will die
But if we get much closer, I could lose control
And if your heart surrenders, you'll need me to hold
We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises - no demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield
And let me add this board software sux BIGTIME !!
Will the next war be WWIII? by TheCarp · 2011-01-27 00:56 · Score: 1

I remember when worry about nuclear apocalypse was in vogue. It was often said that WWIII would be the last war.
However, it makes me think, if this is the new face of popular revolution, and it seems to work pretty well, quickly, and bloodlessly, well... maybe its time for WWIII. We could stand to reset the government here. Does anyone really think we wouldn't benefit from a total rewrite?
You know, sometimes you have to give up on version 1.112 and start working on a clean 2.0.
We have enough people out of work now to get it started here, I hope to see this trend catch on.
-Steve

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"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
1. Re:Will the next war be WWIII? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 02:04 · Score: 0
  
  Assuming you're in the US, not a chance in hell. We have the strongest military in the world. It would take the rest of the world to do such a feat and we have too many friends. Closest chance for that is millions move to Texas and press for secession. Texas would be an oil exporter and self-sufficient. Then they'd have a 3rd term for Bush and get screwed over yet again.
2. Re:Will the next war be WWIII? by rednip · 2011-01-27 04:46 · Score: 1
  
  Does anyone really think we wouldn't benefit from a total rewrite?...You know, sometimes you have to give up on version 1.112 and start working on a clean 2.0..., I hope to see this trend catch on.
  Sure, but we will need martyrs; how about your family? Would you like to be the first to die today, or the last? People like you seem to assume that they'd somehow manage to scratch and claw your way to the top in a jumbled society. However, if your 'dreams' ever did come to fruition, you'd be lucky enough to live though it until order is restored.
  
  --
  The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
3. Re:Will the next war be WWIII? by TheCarp · 2011-01-28 01:22 · Score: 1
  
  Martyrs? There are already plenty to choose from if you ask me. Hell I have known people that I can expect to not see for a while because the thugs in blue found out that they had dried flowers at his house. The entire war on human appetite has left a trail of human destruction in its wake that rivals any real wars.
  You misunderstand me if you think I want to be on the top. Leadership is not my bag at all. Really, I just want to play video games and work on projects that amuse me, and I don't mind going to work most days to make that happen. However, while I do it, a portion of my money is taken.... to ransack the houses of my neighbors and to occupy foreign lands.
  I find it more than a little insulting that you think that jealousy of power could be the only reason to have no faith whatsoever in the current incarnation of government around me. I haven't even mentioned yet how incompetently the current system has been run, fix the civil rights issues, and you still have to ask, how far in debt? Why are some IOUs refered to as the "Social Security Trust Fund". It is bad enough that its a bit of a pyramid scam, but, isn't the IOU thing getting a little blatant?
  
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  "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
US defeated in Vietnam? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 00:58 · Score: 0

"(the story of US defeat in Vietnam" - by DNS-and-BIND (461968) on Thursday January 27, @04:36AM (#35017738) Homepage
Everytime I see that statement, I have to ask anyone stating it a simple question:
DO YOU SEE ANY OF THE US CITIES OR COUNTRYSIDE BOMBED INTO SHAMBLES AS VIETNAM WAS? No!
If the US leaving is a "defeat"? I'd take it, anytime, over what happened in Vietnam afterwards, as their "victory" (lol, not).
(Some defeat of the US (NOT)).
The Internet by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 01:24 · Score: 0

You misspelled the Internet as social media.
"Weapon" by dazedNconfuzed · 2011-01-27 02:06 · Score: 1

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
- Inigo Montoya

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Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Good. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 03:09 · Score: 0

Egyptians can be right cunts.
But that happened with older tech too... by fantomas · 2011-01-27 03:52 · Score: 1

But agents provocateurs are nothing new. They've been around since the beginning of the world too. Co-conspirators who encourage idealists to carry out an act and they all sign their vows of allegiance to the glorious people's revolution, and next find it being waved at them by the government's chief minister when they are hauled off to the dungeons the next day... nothing new here. Too many examples from history.
Agent provocateurs didn't start with the internet.
1. Re:But that happened with older tech too... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 08:35 · Score: 0
  
  According to L. Ron Hubbart, it were Agent Provocateurs who founded the planet Earth!
It's "Communication", not "Social Media" by eepok · 2011-01-27 04:08 · Score: 1

In every war, it's been a major tactics to cut off your enemy's ability to communicate with outside resources. There has been no change.
Killing messengers
Destroying railroads
Severing telegraph lines
Destroying printing shops
Severing phone lines
Destroying radio towers
Putting noise out on all channels
And now... turning off Twitter (OMGLOL!) and using Facebook for propaganda.
Social Media - The Safe Angle by MrSteveSD · 2011-01-27 05:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

Conspicuously absent from the mainstream media is any discussion of our support for these brutal and oppressive regimes. The use of social media in these revolts has provided a safe angle for journalists. Journalists are now able to spend most of an article talking about how amazing Facebook and Twitter are rather than note that the US has funded the oppressive security apparatus of Egypt for decades. Tacit support for a dictator is one thing, but massive material support to the tune of billions of dollars is quite another. The very least the US could do to help the Egyptian people is to stop actively helping their oppressor.
1. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Alimony+Pakhdan · 2011-01-27 12:17 · Score: 1
  
  Context matters. You might want to look into why the USA provides material support to Egypt.
2. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Johann+Lau · 2011-01-30 02:36 · Score: 1
  
  and why does it?
3. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Alimony+Pakhdan · 2011-01-30 12:51 · Score: 1
  
  I'd hope the phrase Camp David Accords rings a bell. If not I cant really be surprised.
4. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Johann+Lau · 2011-01-30 13:03 · Score: 1
  
  It does "ring a bell", but that's far cry from you actually *saying* what you're beating around the bush about. Not that this surprises me...
5. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Alimony+Pakhdan · 2011-01-30 13:46 · Score: 1
  
  Does everything have to be spelled out in detail, spoon fed at a kindergarten level? Did I actually need to write out a short history lesson to reply to MrSteveSD's post? I actually consider it a crying shame that blather like that gets modded "5 Insightful" because that means people dont know their history.
6. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Johann+Lau · 2011-01-30 14:39 · Score: 1
  
  Did I actually need to write out a short history lesson to reply to MrSteveSD's post?
  Nobody asked to you reply. But IF you want to make an argument, make it. Don't just say "it can be made", then leave that as homework to the reader, and *then* instantly pile on the insults while refering to "kindergarten level" when you're called on it.
  
  Which, as I said, doesn't surprise, since I guess your implied argument for supporting a tyranny is "otherwise, worse would happen", since it usually is, and people who fall for that bullshit often exhibit the exact same bully style of "argument", like you did. So, no surprise there. I just asked you, what the good reasons are, and instantly you pout/attack. So I'll have to assume there simply isn't anything worthwhile there.
  
  But of course, feel free to post what you should have posted in the first place, your argument. But save me your patronizing antics. They're hilarious but ultimately boring and off-topic. Shit or get off the pot.
7. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Alimony+Pakhdan · 2011-01-30 17:14 · Score: 1
  
  Don't just say "it can be made", then leave that as homework to the reader
  Re-read my original post
  
  I guess your implied argument for supporting a tyranny is "otherwise, worse would happen"
  Srawman.
  
  I just asked you, what the good reasons are, ... So I'll have to assume there simply isn't anything worthwhile there.
  Since the CDA has provided the framework for US attempts to guide the Arab Israeli negotiations for over 30 years, the idea of altering the terms of the agreement might be difficult at best. Anyone could try and start a campaign to convince Congress to repeal material support to Egypt or any other country the US provides any form of aid to. There are all sorts of special interest groups out there. Still, as before, context matters which is why both the US State Dept and the govt of the State of Israel have publicly expressed that no matter what happens in Egypt as a consequence of recent events that the treaties in place be respected.
8. Re:Social Media - The Safe Angle by Johann+Lau · 2011-01-30 19:59 · Score: 1
  
  Don't just say "it can be made", then leave that as homework to the reader
  Re-read my original post
  sure:
  
  You might want to look into why the USA provides material support to Egypt.
  which is exactly what I said it is.
  
  Srawman.
  I'm not arguing for or against anything, I'm just guessing because you're not spilling the beans if you will..
  
  Since the CDA has provided the framework for US attempts to guide the Arab Israeli negotiations for over 30 years, the idea of altering the terms of the agreement might be difficult at best.
  and what has this to do with the original post about supporting an oppressive regime? what is CDA? I give up, I tried.
Views from an Egyptian ... by kbahey · 2011-01-27 11:01 · Score: 5, Informative

Rather than moderating, I'd rather write what I know.
There is a lot of misinformation here, and mainstream media coverage in the USA seems not up to par. Europe's coverage is much better, and Canada somewhere in between. The church bombing on New Year's Eve got more coverage than this history in the making period.
First, I am Egyptian, born and raised there, but living outside of Egypt for the last 2 decades. I was personally affected by the regime there for decades, but that is a story for a future blog post. I have family there, and was in Egypt for all of December 2010.
The whole region is run by military dictators, after the post-World War II upheaval. The colonial rule by European powers, or local monarchies, were ousted in military coupe d'etats. Many of the dictators were idealistic at first, and took a socialist or communist slant initially, only to become totalitarian despots, fascists, or something else other than socialist. Now the trend is to make it a dynastic rule, with Syria the first to have a nominal republic convert into a dynastic one. Tunisia's ex-despot had a son in law (Sakher El-Materi, only 30 years old) who was into politics big time and poised to take over the reigns of the country. In Algiers, the president is set to install his brother to succeed him. In Libya, a son seems earmarked for that. In Egypt it is also a son as well. I think Yemen.
Look at the statistics and cringe in horror at how long these despots are in power:
- Libya: Qaddafi - 41 years.
- Yemen: Saleh - 32 years.
- Egypt: Mubarak - 29 years.
- Tunisia: Ben Ali - 23 years.
Let us ignore the monarchies in the region for a bit, since they are not a republic and can nominally remain in power for that long.
Mubarak has been in power FOR MORE THAN ANY EGYPTIAN RULER IN MODERN HISTORY. That is since 1847 or so, NO ONE has ruled as long as Mubarak did.
All of them have had a sham parliament amend the nominal constitution to make it possible for them to run for more than the maximum of 2 or 3 terms, and then make it a lifetime thing as well.
All of them have parliaments that consist exclusively of those from the ruling party which gets 90% or more of seats via intimidation and exclusion of the opposition.
Now, the Operation Egypt thing is relatively new. I saw it today in the morning only. So it remains to be seen if they are helpful or not.
What I can say is that on Jan 25, the Egyptian Presidency web site was showing "under development and construction". I was checking it for a page for the list of modern rulers of Egypt and their time in power. Today, the web site seems to be under a DoS attack.
However, the stars of the show are first Kolena Khaled Saeed (We are all Khaled Saeed). It is a Facebook group that is named after a 20-something youth tortured and killed by the police last year. Police brutality is one of the top demands of those who are protesting. Last I checked, they had 413,000 "likes".
The second star is the Rassd News Network. This is a grassroots citizen news organization that is very mature, professional and objective. They verify sources and rate items as either "unconfirmed" or "confirmed". They have both Arabic and English updates from various sources, including eyewitnesses from action. You can "Like" them in Facebook, ignore the Arabic messages, and read the English ones to see updates.
The path to where we are today with protests was a long one.
The parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005 and 2006 show a lot of courage from a very small number of people. They were mainly middle class or intellectuals. The rest of the public did not catch on. Those who opposed the president got the heavy hand of the regime on them. For example, Saad El Din Ibrahim (an academic, and a bit eccentric) got imprisoned on false charges, Ayman Nour (another opposition figure) was impriso

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1. Re:Views from an Egyptian ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 21:44 · Score: 0
  
  Mods please up this to 5
2. Re:Views from an Egyptian ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 23:17 · Score: 0
  
  I see the hope in this and in that in might be a nascent revolution. What I'm worried about is that you need structure to enstate law, which is the basis of any free society. If this movement has no structure, its effect is as unpredictable as can be. What will come of it? A Bolschevik Revolution? A French Revolution? It all depends on who stands at the helm.... I find the lack of a leader worrying, because that might mean an impasse when it comes to forming a functioning government after the current one goes down. This is a very important historic event indeed.
  J
3. Re:Views from an Egyptian ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-28 00:36 · Score: 1
  
  You, sir, are an idealist.
  But idealist won't make society better, especially not an Islamic country, like Egypt.
  The military dictators might be ousted, but even more cruel regimes will take their place.
  I too live in an Islamic country. I too am very tired of the current regime, but I do realize that if this regime is toppled some even more despicable characters will take helm and take my country to even deeper shit.
  And yes, I too have lived in the Western democracy for decades.
4. Re:Views from an Egyptian ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-28 02:16 · Score: 0
  
  Sounds seriously like China to every little detail, well... except for Muslim part, China has more social groups...I hope this protest will go well! Best wishes for the people who fight for their rights!
5. Re:Views from an Egyptian ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-28 05:31 · Score: 0
  
  I worry about the same thing, except the lack of a leader. Whenever there is a leader at the head of a revolution you end up with the exact same thing down the road: Another dictator. What is happening is terrible and we can only guess as to what will happen in the future, but I hope for the best for all of Egypt.
  It breaks my heart that the Egyptian people are suffering like this.
  Is there reputable organization that is able to get any necessary medical attention / food / whatever these people need?
6. Re:Views from an Egyptian ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-28 05:37 · Score: 0
  
  Your current perspective on how a free society must function needs some re-arrangement. I find the lack of a designated leader absolutely refreshing! In spark opposition to the trends that have brought modern civilization to where it is today. We must look at EVERY aspect of civilization and ask simply, why, and to what effect? It has been said that ultimately the best leader, would be the one who least wants the job...
  I for one believe that all public servitude should be just that; servitude. No one must "want" to work for the government for materialistic needs. It should not be an avenue for occupation of any sort. The reward must be within the deed, or it all but invites the personal ego to do whatever it wills.
  E
Thanks for sharing your own story. by lkehl · 2011-01-27 15:09 · Score: 1

Your right, the media here does a horrible job of covering what is going on in. Hopefully this younger wired generation can accomplish something their parents couldn't.
Re:YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, SLASHDOT !! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 20:19 · Score: 0

Dude, even in the BBS days you didn't have to dial Bulgaria to get your porn. :)
Raw video from Egypt by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-28 00:34 · Score: 0

Here is raw video of the protesters http://tiltview.com/#ytFzMOkrfv0uQ
RNN in English by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-28 05:37 · Score: 1

The Rassd Facebook page you linked to seems to be Arabic-only now. Here's an English page of theirs: http://www.facebook.com/RNN.World
what is your personal attitude to facebook? by monocrome · 2011-01-30 15:22 · Score: 1

Hi I am doing some research into people's attitudes towards Facebook for my Thesis. I'd be very very grateful if you could take 5 minutes to do this survey. Thank You! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MKZWL9T