Freeing the Voice of Dissent

[CILONE/SK]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110612/ts_nm/us_usa_dissent_internet

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is leading a global effort to establish "shadow" Internet and cellphone systems to help dissidents undermine authoritarian governments, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The effort has quickened since former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's government shut down the country's Internet in the last days of his rule, said the Times report, which cited planning documents, classified diplomatic cables and sources.

The Internet has been used in recent months by anti-government protesters in North Africa and the Middle East to help coordinate demonstrations. Some governments have responded by disabling Internet access.

In one project, the U.S. State Department and Pentagon have spent at least $50 million to create an independent cellphone network in Afghanistan using towers on military bases in the country, the Times said, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

The operation is aimed at counteracting the Taliban insurgency's ability to shut down official Afghan services, the Times said.

The State Department is also financing creation of stealth wireless networks to enable activists to communicate beyond the reach of governments in countries like Iran, Syria and Libya, the Times said, citing participants in the projects.

Another project focuses on development of an "Internet in a suitcase" that could be smuggled across a border and deployed to allow wireless communication with a link to the global Internet, the Times reported.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is backing the U.S. effort, according to the report.

"We see more and more people around the globe using the Internet, mobile phones and other technologies to make their voices heard as they protest against injustice and seek to realize their aspirations," the Times quoted Clinton as saying in an email response to a query on the subject.

U.S. diplomats also are meeting with operatives who have been burying Chinese cellphones near the border with North Korea, where they can be dug up and used to make furtive calls, the Times reported.

(Writing by Paul Simao; Editing by Eric Beech)

 

 

This article raises some interesting questions. First is, how come there are no sources cited? Second, what happens when they decide that they do not like the message getting released?

 

To me, this seems like a good idea hiding an agenda to do the opposite.

[Mercer]

I always thought we should invest in satellite based broadband communications that could be used globally.

We could deploy it free wherever free speech/press isn't allowed, or charge for it much like the satellite phones.

Can you image how dope it would be if the Chinese had an internet that was free of censors.

Imagine how quickly people would realize how well the South lives if we could somehow smuggle in a connected ipad or 2 into each village for North Koreans.

They'd be able to communicate with each other and the outside, document criminal activity of government agents for later prosecution.

 

 

The truth (and access to it) can set us all free.

[BullshitTantrum]

i'm sure the good part of north koreans in the dark are in the dark...without a computer....

[shai]

Sounds good...so, when are they going to implement it in the US?

[thehaze]

sounds like this

(bait car)

 

but on the internetz

[lord_casek]

This is very real. I was just reading something about this on a netsec site the other day.

[ILOTSMYBRAIN]

Sounds good...so, when are they going to implement it in the US?

 

Ya, and then people wonder why the world hates us.

 

This shit should already be steamrolling here.

[shai]

Better yet, the NSA could get rid of NarusInsight.

 

I'm kind of jaded when it comes to the US doing shit like this. It's not a bad idea in theory, but the goal is not to push democracy- it's to create new markets and exploit resources. At least the robber barons were honest about their intentions...we're just slapping that stupid Walmart happy face on everything we touch with the expectation that other countries will believe we're trying to help them.

[ILOTSMYBRAIN]

Better yet, the NSA could get rid of NarusInsight.

 

I'm kind of jaded when it comes to the US doing shit like this. It's not a bad idea in theory, but the goal is not to push democracy- it's to create new markets and exploit resources. At least the robber barons were honest about their intentions...we're just slapping that stupid Walmart happy face on everything we touch with the expectation that other countries will believe we're trying to help them.

 

I disagree, I think it is a horrible idea. This undermines any effort we take anywhere. How can we be trusted? Even if a country is in need of "regime change".

 

We can't protect freedom here if it is being violated by the U.S. government everywhere else.

 

One of my favorite Thomas Paine quotes..."An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret and to misapply the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself."

[angelofdeath]

Sounds good...so, when are they going to implement it in the US?

 

indeed.

[Citizen X]

One of my newest friends is a man named Goodelvis, 2 months now in America from Cuba. He was a school theacher and, as such, was eyeballed fairly heavily by the Govt. For this reason he never had a cell phone but he is certainly aware of people like Yoani Sanchez whose blog Generation Y inspires me on the daily.

 

*seriously yall, if I had my dreams it would be running bicycle tours of Cuba, just sayin...

 

Anyway, the GenY set has been undermining Govt controls using bluetooth equipped cellphones for a while now. For those not technologically aware, Bluetooth is a wireless non-server based networking system. This means that there is no need to upload info to some (perhaps Govt. controlled or monitored) server to then be downloaded by the person on the other end. Much more like a universal walkie-talkie that sends directly to the reciever using radio wave frequencies. Hard to track and hard to trace. The limitation is geography, senders and recievers need to be in fairly close proximity, between say 30 - 100 feet. Some have said advances increase range but nothing super significant.

 

The thing is, instead of some 'shadow internet' wouldn't it be better for the people to just work on increasing the bluetooth range? The low power requirements mean that a single cell phone could act as an ad hoc server and then simply dissapppear when the heat came.

 

This is, of course, why 'we' aren't interested in untraceable networks. The powers that be want it all to be traceable somehow, for some residual information to be left on a server somewhere for later forensic analysis...

 

and that's why all Govts suck and freedom is suppressed before the masses even realize they have it.

 

We have always been at war with Eastasia.

[shai]

Unfortunately, this concept completely overlooks (ignores?) the top-down nature of most modern communications networks. If I wanted/needed to keep something a secret I'm not going to talk about it on a cell phone or via email...and I would avoid something the US intelligence community cooked up for "secure communications" like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

I don't mind technology- in fact, I like certain aspects of it a lot- but it amazes me how little people understand about how it works. I have friends who spend thousands of dollars on computers and miscellaneous gadgetry and they can't even tell the difference between a hard drive and a memory stick...or explain to me how cellular technology works.