Infowar – A Case Study
Friday, February 4th, 2011[This weekend's Opinion column in the Daily Post] The recent decision by the Mubarak regime in Egypt to cut off all Internet access for its citizens is a textbook example of using a silver bullet to shoot oneself in the foot. The whys and wherefores of how they’ve gone about doing so provide a useful [...]
Selling Democracy – ctd.
Sunday, June 28th, 2009Farhad Manjoo says the Revolution will not be digitised. His recent Slate column, subtitled “How the Internet helps Iran silence activists” makes the obvious point that technology makes all aspects of communications easier – even the unpleasant ones. But his lazy analysis misses the import of his own observation.
The key to all this is his failure to distinguish between the network and the protocol. Manjoo says that the Internet helps Iran’s repressive efforts. That’s not true, at least not nearly to the extent he thinks. The network – the physical infrastructure of cables, switching and routing equipment, is what’s trapping people right now. If it weren’t for the end-to-end nature of the software protocols that make up what we conveniently call the Internet, little if any news at all would have emerged from Iran.
Drowning in the Bathtub
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009The last election was a setback for the Right. One of America’s enduring virtues is its ability to find great people in moments of great distress. It’s hard to imagine anyone more able to combat the present economic crisis that Barack Obama. But that doesn’t change the fact that, whether he succeeds or not, he’s facing a dire outcome. Even if he manages to wring concessions out of the more timid Republicans, even if he helps moderate Democrats grow a backbone, even if the stimulus succeeds, he – and the nation – are still in deep water.
Perspectives on Privacy
Saturday, December 6th, 2008I’ve written before about the technical, ethical and legal problems surrounding Australia’s plan to enforce a compulsory, universal Internet Content Filter. I maintain that the system is ineffective and inappropriate, foisting a law enforcement role on the nation’s ISPs, and threatening free speech without providing sufficient protection from the very content it seeks to block.
With Internet deregulation on the horizon in Vanuatu, it seems timely to take a look at some of the basic issues underlying the debate.
Employment Act Amendments – Commentary
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008As promised, here are the first notes concerning the amendments to the Vanuatu Employment Act passed last Thursday in Parliament.
Amended Employment Act (CAP 160)
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008There’s been a lot of concern – bordering on panic – among Vanuatu businesses over the last few days, following a vote in Parliament to amend the Vanuatu Employment Act.
Town and Country
Friday, November 21st, 2008Received wisdom, even from the leading lights of development theory, often does more damage than good if it’s not leavened with a solid grounding in local conditions. And that’s why I’ve been waiting with bated breath for an upcoming report by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP) on the social effects of mobile telephony in Vanuatu.
Then and Now
Thursday, August 28th, 2008Nobody seems to have anticipated just how widespread and immediate the effects of telecoms liberalisation would be. Some of the expectations outlined in the World Bank report titled ‘Infrastructure Regulatory Review’ appear now to be quite conservative, in some cases landing nearly outside the ballpark.
Single Point of Failure
Friday, January 21st, 2005On January 14, 2005, the Intelsat 804 satellite suddenly lost its power source and began drifting helplessly in space. This satellite provided much, and in some cases all, of the communications lines for countries from Sri Lanka to Samoa. The effect of this sudden loss of service was particularly severe on Pacific island nations, because [...]