[liberationtech] liberationtech Digest, Vol 114, Issue 1
Ernad Halilovic
ernadh at gmail.com
Tue Jul 24 02:26:04 PDT 2012
I'd just like to point out to academic paper that shows how 1848 European
revolutions were motivated by economic means in countries where food
crisis occurred. Countries like England that did not have such crisis
avoided the effect of these revolutions. I highly suggest reading this as
it may back up what Thiel said. *
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.cas.cz/stable/2698022*
On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 3:04 AM,
<liberationtech-request at lists.stanford.edu>wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Shava Nerad)
> 2. Re: New, Free Gamification Web App for Liberationtech
> Subscribers! (Bernard Tyers)
> 3. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Arzak Khan)
> 4. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Paul Bernal (LAW))
> 5. Re: New, Free Gamification Web App for Liberationtech
> Subscribers! (Ryan Chin)
> 6. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Kevin Hsu)
> 7. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Virginia Beard)
> 8. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (L. Fernando Baron)
> 9. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Doug Schuler)
> 10. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Zack Brisson)
> 11. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Omer Gibreel)
> 12. FFII - European Commission net neutrality consultation
> excludes TOR users (Andre Rebentisch)
> 13. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Jillian C. York)
> 14. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Yosem Companys)
> 15. Bar BoF at IETF 84: Media without censorship (CensorFree)
> (Yosem Companys)
> 16. Re: Peter Theil On Arab spring (Erik Sundelof)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 02:48:22 -0400
> From: Shava Nerad <shava23 at gmail.com>
> To: Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <CAHzs-w+kVM1TksA=
> pTr1YEqdaMon7yxQzCNoFf_HDxLs9YLGtg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:02 AM, Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> > Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole
> debat
> > online at
> http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >
>
> Really, to give a simplistic response, three words:
>
> Motive
> Means
> Opportunity
>
> Food price is a motive.
> The internet tools were a means.
> The desperation produced was made into an opportunity by those who wanted
> to wedge activism out of a passive public for a very long time.
>
> As I said, simplistic. But it's not too much of a stretch to think of a
> revolution as a crime -- certainly the status quo looks at it that way.
> And it would be criminal to look at such things with any less complexity,
> ad reductio, so to speak. ;)
>
> But really, people who want to say, "Not this, only that" regarding
> historic, human, social events have almost always checked their brains at
> the door -- or worse, have assumed that the audience have checked theirs,
> and so an agenda can be pushed. Danger, either way.
>
> yrs,
>
> > --
> >
>
> Shava Nerad
> shava23 at gmail.com
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:26:35 +0100
> From: Bernard Tyers <ei8fdb at ei8fdb.org>
> To: Ryan Chin <ryanachin at gmail.com>,liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] New, Free Gamification Web App for
> Liberationtech Subscribers!
> Message-ID: <8194430d-607b-4713-8441-7012d5b4d7bf at email.android.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hi there,
>
> What is done with the data generated by potential users?
>
> Regards,
> Bernard
>
> --
> Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
>
> Ryan Chin <ryanachin at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi All!
>
>
> Earlier today I sent this offer out to the Progressive Exchange (PX)
> listserv and I was told that it would probably be of interest to
> Liberationtech members, also, so I'm extending the offer.
>
>
> We have a new web app that we've just built called Buzzflock, and we'd
> like to offer it for free to interested Liberationtech for six months (for
> a limited time)! The purpose of the app is to make it fun (and
> competitive) to support your favorite non-profits (and causes) by earning
> points for helping them.
>
>
> Interested Liberationtech members would get their own community (we call
> them "Buzzflocks") which you invite supporters to join.
>
>
> >From there, Buzzflock owners create ways for users to earn points, such
> as:
>
> referring donors,reading news/announcements posted on the Buzzflock,
> attracting new Buzzflock users, referring other readers, providing
> feedback/input, or referring event registrants (free events only at this
> time)The actions which receive points, the amount of points, and duration
> which users can earn points is all set by the Buzzflock owner and users are
> automatically notified via email (based on their settings) when new earning
> opportunities are posted. In addition, Buzzflock owners can give badges
> automatically when users reach designated point levels, or manually
> whenever they feel like it.
>
>
> Although points and badges have no intrinsic value, they're used to
> motivate your users via leaderboards. Also, Buzzflock owners are allowed
> to award prizes to people who earn points - either through raffles (points
> = entries) or the users who earn the most points for designated earning
> opportunities. So for example, if you want to offer some t-shirts, books,
> memberships to winners, it's a low cost way of providing further motivation.
>
>
> The app is a software as a service with no contracts and we've tried to
> make prices as affordable as possible (based on Buzzflock users) - this is
> very different than the other gamification options out there where you need
> to sign a contract, the rates are not publicly displayed, and you're
> talking thousands per month at a minimum.
>
>
> The reason I'm offered it to PX'ers is because the idea came from a post a
> few years ago where someone asked what tools are available which could help
> motivate supporters to recruit more members. No responses ever came, so I
> started thinking what kind of tool might be able to do such a thing, and
> what other things non-profits could use to help with. After a lot of hard
> work and thinking, this is the result. I wanted to present this offer to
> this list because I know our progressive non-profits, campaigns, and causes
> can benefit - especially with this being a big election year and so many
> big issues on the line.
>
>
> To learn more about the app, you can visit buzzflock.com, as well as a
> couple of staging sites we've set-up,foofoo.buzzflock.com (non-profit
> example) and joethepolitician.buzzflock.com (political/campaign example).
> If you're interested in using it for free for six months, please visit
> buzzflock.com/flocks/px!
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ryan
>
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 07:54:02 +0000
> From: Arzak Khan <azrak_khan at hotmail.com>
> To: <ldiamond at stanford.edu>, <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> Cc: Libertaiontechlist <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID: <BLU155-W1247F8115958F2F0892405FFDD0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
>
>
> Prashant,
>
> I think the sparking of social movements and protest patterns in
> Arab Spring and prior to that Pakistan?s black movement are somewhat
> similar in
> nature. All three countries have been an early adopter of information
> communication technologies and are perceived as leaders in the adoption of
> mobile
> technologies. Political speech was highly suppressed in Pakistan during
> Musharraf regime, in Egypt during Mubarak regime and in Tunisia during Ben
> Ali
> regime but political discourse was very evident in the blogosphere and
> through
> SMS in all three countries. Lack of employment among youth, nepotism,
> rising corruption
> and state repression also made all three countries ripe for a people?s
> revolution and ICTs especially mobile phone activism and social media such
> as Facebook
> contributed in letting the youth share their frustration and anger over the
> system by organizing street protests and million march.
>
>
> The protests in Egypt and Tunisia begin from high
> unemployment, poverty, and increasing food prices making life of ordinary
> people very difficult. The regimes had been in power for an extended
> period, in
> these cases almost three decades. Similarly, in Pakistan President General
> Pervez Musharraf a military dictator was in power for almost a decade and
> a close
> ally of the West in the not so popular war on terror having brought havoc
> for the
> country with suicide bombings, target killings, drone strikes, high
> unemployment, rising corruption, nepotism and economic crisis. All these
> factors and others combined to bring
> an end to the Musharraf regime like in the case of Tunisian and Egyptian
> regimes. The national uprising was fueled by decades of government misrule
> and corruption and ultimately new communication technologies helped the
> masses
> in mobilization and collective action against totalitarianism.
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Arzak
>
>
>
> Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:50:26 -0700
> From: ldiamond at stanford.edu
> To: pacificleo at gmail.com
> CC: liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
>
> Prashant,I think Thiel's view is way too simplistic. He is correct about
> the rise in food prices, but there were long simmering frustrations over
> bad, corrupt, abusive governance and the lack of freedom and human dignity
> that contributed to these explosions. And in any case, he is confusing
> causal triggers and means of mobilization. I think all the tools of
> Liberation Technology--from the Internet and social media to mobile phones
> and yes, in some places Twitter--made an important facilitating
> contribution to the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and the uprisings in
> a number of Arab countries that followed.
> See for example the article by Philip Howard and Muzammil Hussain in the
> July 2011 Journal of Democracy. As they conclude, "In each country people
> have used digital media to build a political response to a local experience
> of unjust rule. They were not inspired by Facebook; they were inspired by
> the real tragedies documented on Facebook. Social media have become the
> scaffolding upon which civil society can build, and new information
> technologies give activists things that they did not have before:
> information networks not easily controlled by the state and coordination
> tools that are already embedded in trusted networks of family and friends."
> This article can also be found in the new book I have c-edited with Marc
> Plattner, Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for
> Democracy.
> Thanks,Larry Diamond
>
> From: "Prashant Singh" <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> To: "liberationtech" <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:02:44 PM
> Subject: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
>
> Hi Guys
>
> Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a
> debate between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution
> of Technology in Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one
> point of time during the debate while discussing role of technology in
> enabling Arab Spiring and other revolution Thiel said
>
> "*When you talk about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
> > Google and Twitter ?? ?? liberating the world through information. But,
> > the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> > percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had become
> ??
> > you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who
> > revolted.*"
>
>
> is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole debat
> online at http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
>
> thanks
>
> --
> Prashant
>
> _______________________________________________
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> _______________________________________________
> liberationtech mailing list
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
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> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
>
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
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> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
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> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:29:51 +0000
> From: "Paul Bernal (LAW)" <Paul.Bernal at uea.ac.uk>
> To: Larry Diamond <ldiamond at stanford.edu>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at mailman.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID: <A1D5C378-1A7D-4C0E-895E-822C623A37AE at uea.ac.uk>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> I don't suppose there's an online version of the Howard and Hussain
> article for Journal of Democracy available, is there? I'm struggling to get
> access to it from here.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Dr Paul Bernal
> Lecturer
> UEA Law School
> University of East Anglia
> Norwich Research Park
> Norwich NR4 7TJ
>
> email: paul.bernal at uea.ac.uk<mailto:paul.bernal at uea.ac.uk>
> Web: http://www.paulbernal.co.uk/
> Blog: http://paulbernal.wordpress.com/
> Twitter: @paulbernalUK
>
> On 23 Jul 2012, at 06:50, Larry Diamond wrote:
>
> that
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:30:35 -0700
> From: Ryan Chin <ryanachin at gmail.com>
> To: Bernard Tyers <ei8fdb at ei8fdb.org>
> Cc: liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] New, Free Gamification Web App for
> Liberationtech Subscribers!
> Message-ID:
> <CAOY+dtNBUn2V10ZbNzPeg7WmGKfOtF759=
> 0bs5J0RUaCJdnNqw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hi Bernard,
>
> By data from potential users do you mean the form that we're asking people
> to fill out who are interested in the service?
>
> If so, we're using it to determine the order that we'll approve people, and
> who will get approved.
>
> Thanks,
> Ryan
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:26 AM, Bernard Tyers <ei8fdb at ei8fdb.org> wrote:
>
> > ** Hi there,
> >
> > What is done with the data generated by potential users?
> >
> > Regards,
> > Bernard
> >
> > --
> > Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
> >
> >
> > Ryan Chin <ryanachin at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi All!
> >>
> >> Earlier today I sent this offer out to the Progressive Exchange (PX)
> >> listserv and I was told that it would probably be of interest
> >> to Liberationtech members, also, so I'm extending the offer.
> >>
> >> We have a new web app that we've just built called Buzzflock, and we'd
> >> like to offer it for free to interested Liberationtech for six months
> (for
> >> a limited time)! The purpose of the app is to make it fun (and
> >> competitive) to support your favorite non-profits (and causes) by
> earning
> >> points for helping them.
> >>
> >> Interested Liberationtech members would get their own community (we call
> >> them "Buzzflocks") which you invite supporters to join.
> >>
> >> From there, Buzzflock owners create ways for users to earn points, such
> >> as:
> >>
> >> - referring donors,
> >> - reading news/announcements posted on the Buzzflock,
> >> - attracting new Buzzflock users,
> >> - referring other readers,
> >> - providing feedback/input,
> >> - or referring event registrants (free events only at this time)
> >>
> >> The actions which receive points, the amount of points, and duration
> >> which users can earn points is all set by the Buzzflock owner and users
> are
> >> automatically notified via email (based on their settings) when new
> earning
> >> opportunities are posted. In addition, Buzzflock owners can give badges
> >> automatically when users reach designated point levels, or manually
> >> whenever they feel like it.
> >>
> >> Although points and badges have no intrinsic value, they're used to
> >> motivate your users via leaderboards. Also, Buzzflock owners are
> allowed
> >> to award prizes to people who earn points - either through raffles
> (points
> >> = entries) or the users who earn the most points for designated earning
> >> opportunities. So for example, if you want to offer some t-shirts,
> books,
> >> memberships to winners, it's a low cost way of providing further
> motivation.
> >>
> >> The app is a software as a service with no contracts and we've tried to
> >> make prices as affordable as possible (based on Buzzflock users) - this
> is
> >> very different than the other gamification options out there where you
> need
> >> to sign a contract, the rates are not publicly displayed, and you're
> >> talking thousands per month at a minimum.
> >>
> >> The reason I'm offered it to PX'ers is because the idea came from a post
> >> a few years ago where someone asked what tools are available which could
> >> help motivate supporters to recruit more members. No responses ever
> came,
> >> so I started thinking what kind of tool might be able to do such a
> thing,
> >> and what other things non-profits could use to help with. After a lot
> of
> >> hard work and thinking, this is the result. I wanted to present this
> offer
> >> to this list because I know our progressive non-profits, campaigns, and
> >> causes can benefit - especially with this being a big election year and
> so
> >> many big issues on the line.
> >>
> >> To learn more about the app, you can visit buzzflock.com, as well as a
> >> couple of staging sites we've set-up,foofoo.buzzflock.com (non-profit
> >> example) and joethepolitician.buzzflock.com (political/campaign
> >> example). If you're interested in using it for free for six months,
> please
> >> visit buzzflock.com/flocks/px!
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Ryan
> >>
> >>
>
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Ryan
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:49:42 -0700
> From: Kevin Hsu <khsu at stanford.edu>
> To: "Paul Bernal (LAW)" <Paul.Bernal at uea.ac.uk>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at mailman.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAJojna2pyO7xw1nQih_gideXyorZWaT1OPJ_rC4aQiMrRPBEBA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> The July 2011 issue of the Journal of Democracy is available here:
> http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_democracy/toc/jod.22.3.html
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Kevin Hsu
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:29 AM, Paul Bernal (LAW) <Paul.Bernal at uea.ac.uk
> >wrote:
>
> > I don't suppose there's an online version of the Howard and Hussain
> > article for Journal of Democracy available, is there? I'm struggling to
> get
> > access to it from here.
> >
> > Kind regards
> >
> > Dr Paul Bernal
> > Lecturer
> > UEA Law School
> > University of East Anglia
> > Norwich Research Park
> > Norwich NR4 7TJ
> >
> > email: paul.bernal at uea.ac.uk
> > Web: http://www.paulbernal.co.uk/
> > Blog: http://paulbernal.wordpress.com/
> > Twitter: @paulbernalUK
> >
> > On 23 Jul 2012, at 06:50, Larry Diamond wrote:
> >
> > that
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> > above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> > digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> > moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
> > Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:45:26 -0400
> From: Virginia Beard <beard at hope.edu>
> To: Paul Rich <pauljrich at gmail.com>
> Cc: hhfvk-3154007782 at pers.craigslist.org,
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <CANNEaooY0c7USAx=
> ZUhgMeWFNimfc5PLix6o-iBL1S+yeVHAZg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Thank you for the possibility of considering these issues. I agree with Dr.
> Diamond on the compleity beyond just the rising food prices, though
> recognize the important of such economic factors - along with political
> factors.
> Dr. Paula Booke and I are considering them in a paper we have written on
> whether evidence and literature suggests these revolutions would have taken
> place without social media/liberation technologies.
> >From our (pre-published draft) paper, we find:
> *"This paper assesses the possible impacts of social internet-based media
> venues in the recent Arab Spring. Findings suggest that political will
> resulting from a tipping point in political and economic grievances, as
> well as the presence of central mobilizing personalities, were the key
> factors driving the uprisings. Thus, social networks were important tools
> that shaped the form and broad-based access to the uprisings, but were not
> the only or prime factors driving the political and social changes the
> world has seen exploding across the Middle East and North Africa." *
> Further, ideas such as those in this pop culture Guardian article also draw
> questions about how democratizing and positive in the public arena new
> forms of media, especially social media, might be given the contexts in
> which they are used:
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook
> "And does Facebook really connect people? Doesn't it rather disconnect us,
> since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and
> dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little
> ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my
> desk?"
> Especially if on venues such as Facebook, we create our identity in a
> mimetic space. This seems likely to undermine the (notably debated) role of
> civil society, per Putnam's "Bowling Alone" vein of dialogue:
> "Facebook appeals to a kind of vanity and self-importance in us, too. If I
> put up a flattering picture of myself with a list of my favourite things, I
> can construct an artificial representation of who I am in order to get sex
> or approval...It also encourages a disturbing competitiveness around
> friendship: it seems that with friends today, quality counts for nothing
> and quantity is king. The more friends you have, the better you are. You
> are "popular", in the sense much loved in American high schools. Witness
> the cover line on Dennis Publishing's new Facebook magazine: "How To Double
> Your Friends List." Quality community and civil engagement seem what is
> discussed by Putnam and de Tocqueville.
>
> Some thoughts to add to the dialogue.
> Sincerely,
> Virginia Beard, PhD
> Political Science
> Hope College
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 9:18 AM, Paul Rich <pauljrich at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Larry's point is well taken. Of course food has always had a political
> > role, while the internet is a new additional factor that we need to
> study.
> >
> > This is an important debate. I feel that political science has let the
> > side down because of its failure to fully consider the new influences on
> > democratization issues. The discipline is rather moribund.
> >
> > Some of these issues are being discussed at a conference in September
> > hosted by Oxford University's internet institute and
> > the Policy Studies Organization's journal Policy & Internet
> >
> > Paul Rich
> > President, PSO
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:50 AM, Larry Diamond <ldiamond at stanford.edu
> >wrote:
> >
> >> Prashant,
> >> I think Thiel's view is way too simplistic. He is correct about the
> rise
> >> in food prices, but there were long simmering frustrations over bad,
> >> corrupt, abusive governance and the lack of freedom and human dignity
> that
> >> contributed to these explosions. And in any case, he is confusing
> causal
> >> triggers and means of mobilization. I think all the tools of Liberation
> >> Technology--from the Internet and social media to mobile phones and
> yes, in
> >> some places Twitter--made an important facilitating contribution to the
> >> revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and the uprisings in a number of Arab
> >> countries that followed.
> >>
> >> See for example the article by Philip Howard and Muzammil Hussain in the
> >> July 2011 *Journal of Democracy. *As they conclude,
> >> "In each country people have used digital media to build a political
> >> response to a local experience of unjust rule. They were not inspired
> by
> >> Facebook; they were inspired by the real tragedies *documented* on
> >> Facebook. Social media have become the scaffolding upon which civil
> >> society can build, and new information technologies give activists
> things
> >> that they did not have before: information networks not easily
> controlled
> >> by the state and coordination tools that are already embedded in trusted
> >> networks of family and friends."
> >>
> >> This article can also be found in the new book I have c-edited with Marc
> >> Plattner, *Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for
> >> Democracy*.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Larry Diamond
> >>
> >> ------------------------------
> >> *From: *"Prashant Singh" <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> >> *To: *"liberationtech" <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> >> *Sent: *Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:02:44 PM
> >> *Subject: *[liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> >>
> >>
> >> Hi Guys
> >>
> >> Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a
> >> debate between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution
> >> of Technology in Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one
> >> point of time during the debate while discussing role of technology in
> >> enabling Arab Spiring and other revolution Thiel said
> >>
> >> "*When you talk about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
> >>
> >> > Google and Twitter -- -- liberating the world through information.
> But,
> >> > the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> >> > percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had
> >> become --
> >> > you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who
> >> > revolted.*"
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> >> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole
> >> debat
> >> online at
> >> http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >>
> >> thanks
> >>
> >> --
> >> Prashant
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> liberationtech mailing list
> >> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >>
> >> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >>
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> >> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> >> digest?"
> >>
> >> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> >> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >>
> >> Please don't forget to follow us on
> http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> liberationtech mailing list
> >> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >>
> >> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >>
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> >> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> >> digest?"
> >>
> >> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> >> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >>
> >> Please don't forget to follow us on
> http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Paul Rich
> > President - Policy Studies Organization
> > 1527 New Hampshire Ave., NW
> > Washington, DC 20036
> > Tel. (202) 483-2512 Fax (202) 483-2657
> > www.ipsonet.org/ works.bepress.com/paulrich/
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Virginia Beard, PhD
> 207 Lubbers Hall
> Hope College
> Department of Political Science
>
> "Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid."
> ~Albert Schweitzer
> -------------- next part --------------
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:26:09 -0700
> From: "L. Fernando Baron" <lfbaron at uw.edu>
> To: 'Virginia Beard' <beard at hope.edu>, 'Paul Rich'
> <pauljrich at gmail.com>
> Cc: hhfvk-3154007782 at pers.craigslist.org,
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID: <00d001cd6911$65cda970$3168fc50$@uw.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Yes thank you for opening this interesting discussion. I personally think
> that the analyses of these political dynamics deserve to consider the
> socio-technological dimensions in which they are embedded, including their
> historical processes and the national, regional and international contexts.
> For example, the role of ICTs and social media should not be studied
> without acknowledging the effort by Muslim organizations in building a
> social movement or the increasing dynamics of workers? mobilization in
> Egypt between 1999 and 2009. Nor can the emergence of new forms of
> political expression ? which have their roots in solidarity committees that
> spread throughout Egypt following the start of the Second Intifada in
> Palestine in October 2000 ?? be ignored.
>
>
>
> ICTs and SM should be consider in relation to regional dynamics such as
> the revolutions in Iran (2009) and Tunisia (2010) as well as the human
> rights campaigns launched by local and international organizations in
> Middle East North Africa (MENA), and the international pressure for
> political reforms that Mubarak?s regime experienced coming from the United
> States and several European Union countries.
>
>
>
> Within these conditions ICTs and SM seem to have had very important roles:
> 1) They not only provided alternative mechanisms to spread messages and
> join people in a repressive climate; they also increased the size, speed,
> and reach of activism (local and internationally) 2) They had an impressive
> impact on the creation and development of new youth movements such as April
> 6th Youth Movement, and the use of ICTs were also a sign of identification
> for youth networks in Egypt 3) the combination of ?bits and streets?
> (digital communications and activities on ground), supersized not just the
> mobilizations but also the size of the threats that Mubarak?s regime
> experimented during the revolutionary dynamic.
>
>
>
> Under the coordination of Professor Maria Garrido, we are working in a
> study on the changing roles of Social Media in pro-democracy movements in
> Egypt between 2008 and 2011. This is part of the work of the Technology &
> Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington?s iSchool.
> Sooner than later we are going to present a working paper and a couple of
> papers about this topic and we will let you know about them by this list.
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
>
>
> Fernando
>
>
>
>
>
> L. Fernando Baron P.
> Ph.D. Candidate Information Science
>
> iSchool
>
> University of Washington
>
> Seattle, WA
>
>
>
> From: liberationtech-bounces at lists.stanford.edu [mailto:
> liberationtech-bounces at lists.stanford.edu] On Behalf Of Virginia Beard
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 7:45 AM
> To: Paul Rich
> Cc: hhfvk-3154007782 at pers.craigslist.org;
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
>
>
>
> Thank you for the possibility of considering these issues. I agree with
> Dr. Diamond on the compleity beyond just the rising food prices, though
> recognize the important of such economic factors - along with political
> factors.
> Dr. Paula Booke and I are considering them in a paper we have written on
> whether evidence and literature suggests these revolutions would have taken
> place without social media/liberation technologies.
> >From our (pre-published draft) paper, we find:
> "This paper assesses the possible impacts of social internet-based media
> venues in the recent Arab Spring. Findings suggest that political will
> resulting from a tipping point in political and economic grievances, as
> well as the presence of central mobilizing personalities, were the key
> factors driving the uprisings. Thus, social networks were important tools
> that shaped the form and broad-based access to the uprisings, but were not
> the only or prime factors driving the political and social changes the
> world has seen exploding across the Middle East and North Africa."
> Further, ideas such as those in this pop culture Guardian article also
> draw questions about how democratizing and positive in the public arena new
> forms of media, especially social media, might be given the contexts in
> which they are used:
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook
> "And does Facebook really connect people? Doesn't it rather disconnect us,
> since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and
> dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little
> ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my
> desk?"
> Especially if on venues such as Facebook, we create our identity in a
> mimetic space. This seems likely to undermine the (notably debated) role of
> civil society, per Putnam's "Bowling Alone" vein of dialogue:
> "Facebook appeals to a kind of vanity and self-importance in us, too. If I
> put up a flattering picture of myself with a list of my favourite things, I
> can construct an artificial representation of who I am in order to get sex
> or approval...It also encourages a disturbing competitiveness around
> friendship: it seems that with friends today, quality counts for nothing
> and quantity is king. The more friends you have, the better you are. You
> are "popular", in the sense much loved in American high schools. Witness
> the cover line on Dennis Publishing's new Facebook magazine: "How To Double
> Your Friends List." Quality community and civil engagement seem what is
> discussed by Putnam and de Tocqueville.
>
> Some thoughts to add to the dialogue.
> Sincerely,
> Virginia Beard, PhD
> Political Science
> Hope College
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 9:18 AM, Paul Rich <pauljrich at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Larry's point is well taken. Of course food has always had a political
> role, while the internet is a new additional factor that we need to study.
>
> This is an important debate. I feel that political science has let the
> side down because of its failure to fully consider the new influences on
> democratization issues. The discipline is rather moribund.
>
> Some of these issues are being discussed at a conference in September
> hosted by Oxford University's internet institute and
> the Policy Studies Organization's journal Policy & Internet
>
> Paul Rich
> President, PSO
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:50 AM, Larry Diamond <ldiamond at stanford.edu>
> wrote:
>
> Prashant,
>
> I think Thiel's view is way too simplistic. He is correct about the rise
> in food prices, but there were long simmering frustrations over bad,
> corrupt, abusive governance and the lack of freedom and human dignity that
> contributed to these explosions. And in any case, he is confusing causal
> triggers and means of mobilization. I think all the tools of Liberation
> Technology--from the Internet and social media to mobile phones and yes, in
> some places Twitter--made an important facilitating contribution to the
> revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and the uprisings in a number of Arab
> countries that followed.
>
>
>
> See for example the article by Philip Howard and Muzammil Hussain in the
> July 2011 Journal of Democracy. As they conclude,
>
> "In each country people have used digital media to build a political
> response to a local experience of unjust rule. They were not inspired by
> Facebook; they were inspired by the real tragedies documented on Facebook.
> Social media have become the scaffolding upon which civil society can
> build, and new information technologies give activists things that they did
> not have before: information networks not easily controlled by the state
> and coordination tools that are already embedded in trusted networks of
> family and friends."
>
>
>
> This article can also be found in the new book I have c-edited with Marc
> Plattner, Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for
> Democracy.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Larry Diamond
>
> _____
>
> From: "Prashant Singh" <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> To: "liberationtech" <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:02:44 PM
> Subject: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
>
>
>
> Hi Guys
>
> Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a
> debate between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution
> of Technology in Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one
> point of time during the debate while discussing role of technology in
> enabling Arab Spiring and other revolution Thiel said
>
> "*When you talk about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
>
>
> > Google and Twitter ?? ?? liberating the world through information. But,
> > the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> > percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had become
> ??
> > you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who
>
> > revolted.*"
>
>
>
>
> is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole debat
> online at http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
>
> thanks
>
> --
> Prashant
>
> _______________________________________________
> liberationtech mailing list
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
>
> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
>
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
>
> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
>
> Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech <
> http://twitter.com/#%21/Liberationtech>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> liberationtech mailing list
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
>
> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
>
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
>
> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
>
> Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech <
> http://twitter.com/#%21/Liberationtech>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Paul Rich
> President - Policy Studies Organization
> 1527 New Hampshire Ave., NW
> Washington, DC 20036
> Tel. (202) 483-2512 <tel:%28202%29%20483-2512> Fax (202) 483-2657<tel:%28202%29%20483-2657>
> www.ipsonet.org/ works.bepress.com/paulrich/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Virginia Beard, PhD
> 207 Lubbers Hall
> Hope College
> Department of Political Science
>
> ?Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid.?
> ~Albert Schweitzer
>
>
>
> -------------- next part --------------
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> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/private/liberationtech/attachments/20120723/16e34f26/attachment-0001.html
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:00:33 -0700
> From: Doug Schuler <douglas at publicsphereproject.org>
> To: Shava Nerad <shava23 at gmail.com>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <ABEB7CB5-CD96-4536-AB81-D7E0789B3BEE at publicsphereproject.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
> I'd add strategic capacity, planning, dedication, imagination, hope,
> agency, etc. of the protagonists of the struggles. This is the "civic
> intelligence" that is often lost (imo) when social struggles are described
> without giving due credit to the people who are struggling towards the
> change. (This often happens when words such as opportunity, technology,
> resource mobilization, etc. are used to depict activism.) It can suggest
> false determinism and misleading trivialization.
>
> I like the way that Seamus Heaney puts it (The Cure at Troy): "History
> says, Don't hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime
> the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history
> rhyme."
>
> -- Doug
>
>
> On Jul 22, 2012, at 11:48 PM, Shava Nerad wrote:
>
> > On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:02 AM, Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole debat
> online at http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >
> > Really, to give a simplistic response, three words:
> >
> > Motive
> > Means
> > Opportunity
> >
> > Food price is a motive.
> > The internet tools were a means.
> > The desperation produced was made into an opportunity by those who
> wanted to wedge activism out of a passive public for a very long time.
> >
> > As I said, simplistic. But it's not too much of a stretch to think of a
> revolution as a crime -- certainly the status quo looks at it that way.
> And it would be criminal to look at such things with any less complexity,
> ad reductio, so to speak. ;)
> >
> > But really, people who want to say, "Not this, only that" regarding
> historic, human, social events have almost always checked their brains at
> the door -- or worse, have assumed that the audience have checked theirs,
> and so an agenda can be pushed. Danger, either way.
> >
> > yrs,
> > --
> >
> > Shava Nerad
> > shava23 at gmail.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
> > Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
>
> Douglas Schuler
> douglas at publicsphereproject.org
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> What Kind of an Activist Are YOU? Play Activist Mirror and find out!
> http://apps.facebook.com/activist-mirror/
>
> Public Sphere Project
> http://www.publicsphereproject.org/
>
> Liberating Voices! A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution
> (project)
> http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/
>
> Liberating Voices! A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution (book)
> http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11601
>
>
>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:15:12 -0400
> From: Zack Brisson <zack at thereboot.org>
> To: Doug Schuler <douglas at publicsphereproject.org>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <CAOHfEsmh68Jha5h=ohZVRBgJDwqu=
> mfr4wJzutZThJXx050QVQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
> Thanks to everyone on the list for continuously providing interesting
> fodder for discussion.
>
> This is a fascinating debate with many interesting perspectives. I would
> like to respectfully submit an additional argument that places the impact
> of technology in the context of systemic dynamics within the communities
> under discussion.
>
> This theory was explored in the introduction to an assessment of the impact
> of ICTs on Tunisia's post revolutionary development conducted for the World
> Bank. Unfortunately the full essay isn't in a web friendly format, but
> publication PDF can be found here. <http://www.infodev.org/Tunisia>
>
> For those who would prefer not to download the PDF, I have also pulled out
> the essay at the end of this email.
>
> Thanks for the lively discussion.
>
> Warmly,
> Zack
>
> <Begin quote>
>
> The year 2011 was marked by profound changes to the relationships between
> governments and their citizens. Popular uprisings launched in the Middle
> East and North Africa region spread to an estimated 16 countries and
> captured the attention of the entire world. While the success of these
> uprisings has been varied, the overall trend points toward fundamental and
> sweeping changes to the systems, structures, and frameworks we depend on to
> govern ourselves.
>
> What guidance can developments in a small country like Tunisia provide
> about these worldwide shifts? The English cybernetics pioneer W. Ross Ashby
> might offer the ?law of requisite variety.? Introduced in 1956, the law of
> requisite variety states that, for any system to achieve stability, the
> controlling mechanism must be at least as complex as the governed body. In
> Ashby?s words, ?Only variety can destroy variety.?
>
> Take, for example, computer security. A hacker can use a wide variety of
> methods to infiltrate a computer system; thus, a computer security
> specialist?s available protection measures must at least match that variety
> in order to effectively address the potential infiltration methods. As a
> hacker?s menu of methods continues to expand, so too must the security
> specialist?s menu of responses. A failure of the security specialist to
> diversify will result in a compromised system.
>
> The law of requisite variety has been manifested in biological, chemical,
> and computational scenarios. Today, it is guiding the social shifts that
> are occurring in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. If a
> system increases in complexity to the point that it has greater variety
> than its controlling mechanism?whether it is a computer hacker facing a
> security specialist or a population subject to government regulation?then a
> phase change must occur. If the controlling mechanism does not become more
> complex, systemic regulation will fail.
>
> Tunisia is a clear and coherent example of how an increasingly complex
> society contributed to the failure of an authoritarian government to
> maintain control. During more than 20 years of leadership under President
> Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the Tunisian governing body was powerful and
> pervasive, but it was also largely static in nature. Ensconced in a robust
> grid of personal power networks, the ruling elite had little incentive to
> evolve its patterns of behavior and control.
>
> Simultaneously, a broader change occurred among the Tunisian populace
> through the spread of information and communication technology (ICT).
> Satellite televisions, first introduced in the early 1990s, increased
> citizen awareness of social, political, and economic conditions elsewhere
> in the world?and of the inequality at home. Mobile networks, expanding
> exponentially in penetration since the late 1990s, increased connectedness
> among a population that had been somewhat atomized by distance and levels
> of educational attainment, as well as by communal, regional, and cultural
> rifts. The Internet, when it first exploded among Tunisian consumers in the
> early 2000s, allowed for widespread exposure to foreign ideas; it also
> offered a platform for a digital public square that had more variety than
> the government could easily control.
>
> As a result, the Tunisian populace in 2011 was more connected?more
> complex?than when the Ben Ali government first came to power. Connectivity
> expanded awareness of economic inequality and increased levels of popular
> frustration; it also strengthened citizens? ability to organize and
> demonstrate. In many ways, the governing elite did not evolve in response
> to these changes; the structures, tools, and processes of governance
> adapted to new ICTs slowly and with difficulty.
>
> Thus, when a fruit vendor in Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire, he incited a
> phase change that was unexpected, but long in development. The rapid pace
> of the shifts that occurred during the Tunisian revolution proved how
> powerful increased connections among a society can be. The response of the
> Ben Ali government?delayed, disconnected from the populace, and
> ineffectual?showed the extent to which it had failed to develop along with
> its society; it also showed how old forms of control can fail when faced
> with greater variety.
>
> A photo from early January 2011 vividly demonstrates this point: In a
> delayed attempt to quiet the demonstrations, President Ben Ali visited the
> hospital where Mohammed Bouazizi, the fruit vendor whose self-immolation
> incited the revolution, was receiving treatment. The government released a
> photograph of Ben Ali at Bouazizi?s bedside?an old-fashioned attempt at
> propaganda. In this respect, the photograph is a spectacular failure.
> Bouazizi, bandaged beyond recognition, is unmoved by Ben Ali?s visit; Ben
> Ali looks equally unmoved. The most powerful emotion visible in the
> photograph is contempt: three hospital staff, their arms folded, stand
> watching Ben Ali, their faces set in deep disapproval.
>
> While the government once may have successfully used such a photograph to
> reassert control, now, in the face of the Tunisian people?s evolution and
> greater connectedness, the photograph serves instead as proof of the phase
> change occurring at that very moment: even those in the personal presence
> of Ben Ali are unconvinced of his control. Days later, Ben Ali would leave
> the country in exile.
>
> Today, Tunisians are wrestling with how to wield the power of their
> increased connectivity to build a society that is more responsive to the
> needs of citizens and more capable of addressing the economic, political,
> and technological complexities of the modern world. The ability of the
> newly formed government to provide health care, economic development,
> justice processes, and other services demanded by its people will depend on
> its ability to match their variety and connectedness. The opportunities and
> setbacks faced by the new government, and its success in addressing them,
> will tell us much about the future of governance in a world that grows more
> complex every day.
>
> The desire to understand the path Tunisians face and the role ICTs play in
> their past and future, led infoDev to commission this research. At Reboot,
> we were eager to explore the repercussions of these recent, rapid changes
> to the structures, systems, and frameworks of governance. Although the
> world?s increasing complexity can be challenging to manage, we believe that
> it empowers citizens in a way that has the potential to lead to a more
> just, equitable, and inclusive global society. We are excited to share
> evidence of this with policymakers, while identifying opportunities for
> sound investments to further encourage social progress.
>
> We hope the findings in this publication do justice to the experiences and
> perspectives that so many Tunisians were willing to share with our team. We
> are grateful for their willingness to let a group of outsiders into the
> transformative period that is undoubtedly their own, but equally important
> for the world.
>
> Zack Brisson & Kate Krontiris
>
> Reboot
>
> February 20, 2012
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 6:00 PM, Doug Schuler <
> douglas at publicsphereproject.org> wrote:
>
> >
> > I'd add strategic capacity, planning, dedication, imagination, hope,
> > agency, etc. of the protagonists of the struggles. This is the "civic
> > intelligence" that is often lost (imo) when social struggles are
> described
> > without giving due credit to the people who are struggling towards the
> > change. (This often happens when words such as opportunity, technology,
> > resource mobilization, etc. are used to depict activism.) It can suggest
> > false determinism and misleading trivialization.
> >
> > I like the way that Seamus Heaney puts it (The Cure at Troy): "History
> > says, Don't hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a
> > lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and
> > history rhyme."
> >
> > -- Doug
> >
> >
> > On Jul 22, 2012, at 11:48 PM, Shava Nerad wrote:
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:02 AM, Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com
> >wrote:
> >
> >> is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> >> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole
> debat
> >> online at
> >> http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >>
> >
> > Really, to give a simplistic response, three words:
> >
> > Motive
> > Means
> > Opportunity
> >
> > Food price is a motive.
> > The internet tools were a means.
> > The desperation produced was made into an opportunity by those who wanted
> > to wedge activism out of a passive public for a very long time.
> >
> > As I said, simplistic. But it's not too much of a stretch to think of a
> > revolution as a crime -- certainly the status quo looks at it that way.
> > And it would be criminal to look at such things with any less
> complexity,
> > ad reductio, so to speak. ;)
> >
> > But really, people who want to say, "Not this, only that" regarding
> > historic, human, social events have almost always checked their brains at
> > the door -- or worse, have assumed that the audience have checked theirs,
> > and so an agenda can be pushed. Danger, either way.
> >
> > yrs,
> >
> >> --
> >>
> >
> > Shava Nerad
> > shava23 at gmail.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> > above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> > digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> > moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
> > Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >
> >
> > Douglas Schuler
> > douglas at publicsphereproject.org
> >
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > What Kind of an Activist Are YOU? Play Activist Mirror and find out!
> > http://apps.facebook.com/activist-mirror/
> >
> > Public Sphere Project
> > http://www.publicsphereproject.org/
> >
> > Liberating Voices! A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution
> > (project)
> > http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/
> >
> > Liberating Voices! A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution
> (book)
> > http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11601
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> > above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> > digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> > moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
> > Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >
>
>
>
> --
> *ZACK BRISSON*
> *Principal, Reboot*
> 45 E 20th St, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10003
> o: +1 917 338 7961 | m: +1 704 281 5322
> zack at theReboot.org
> *http://theReboot.org <http://thereboot.org/>*
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:20:31 +0000
> From: Omer Gibreel <omegato at hotmail.com>
> To: <lfbaron at uw.edu>, <beard at hope.edu>, <pauljrich at gmail.com>
> Cc: hhfvk-3154007782 at pers.craigslist.org,
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID: <SNT116-W28173A82FCED882D172782B5DD0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you for posting this question Prashant, I agree with
> Dr. Diamond and Fernando Baron
> points. As a Sudanese who is interested in the effect of technology in the
> developing world especially the Middle East and Africa, I view the
> uprising in the Arab spring as a long process
> of Social and technological changes that had occurred in the Middle East
> and North
> Africa. The many countries in the Middle East and North Africa has for so
> long been under both Militaristic
> and dictatorial regimes which has led to corruption, embezzlement and the
> absent of the rule of law. These social-economic factors intern led to the
> build-up
> of frustration and discontent by many people in the region which led to
> disbelieve
> in the regime ability to enact change for the betterment of its people.
> What social media did is that it allowed/enabled
> the connection of these small groups of people to form a bigger group that
> enacted change on the ground. What social media did is that it allowed for
> a
> person to know that I am not the only one who is discontent in this
> country, we
> are many, simply put ?it is not just me and my family or my friends it is
> the
> whole neighborhood?. It gave the sense of ?we? and not ?I? which was more
> cemented when people saw social media groups posting freely online and
> voicing their
> opinion on issues that are common to many people in the Middle East and
> North Africa
> such as unemployment, corruption, nepotism and overall the increase in the
> divide between the rich and poor. Hence it is important to view factors
> that
> lead to the Arab spring in a more holistic view then simply the rise in
> food
> prices. thanks Prashant for posting the question.
> thanksOmer Gibreel
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------Omer
> Gibreel010-8074-0882 // omegato at hotmail.com // twitter:@OmerGibreelSeoulNational UniversityMaster Candidate of Management Information System
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------From:
> lfbaron at uw.edu
> To: beard at hope.edu; pauljrich at gmail.com
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:26:09 -0700
> CC: hhfvk-3154007782 at pers.craigslist.org;
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
>
>
> Yes thank you for opening this interesting discussion. I personally think
> that the analyses of these political dynamics deserve to consider the
> socio-technological dimensions in which they are embedded, including their
> historical processes and the national, regional and international contexts.
> For example, the role of ICTs and social media should not be studied
> without acknowledging the effort by Muslim organizations in building a
> social movement or the increasing dynamics of workers? mobilization in
> Egypt between 1999 and 2009. Nor can the emergence of new forms of
> political expression ? which have their roots in solidarity committees that
> spread throughout Egypt following the start of the Second Intifada in
> Palestine in October 2000 ?? be ignored. ICTs and SM should be consider in
> relation to regional dynamics such as the revolutions in Iran (2009) and
> Tunisia (2010) as well as the human rights campaigns launched by local and
> international organizations in Middle East Nort
> h Africa (MENA), and the international pressure for political reforms
> that Mubarak?s regime experienced coming from the United States and several
> European Union countries. Within these conditions ICTs and SM seem to have
> had very important roles: 1) They not only provided alternative mechanisms
> to spread messages and join people in a repressive climate; they also
> increased the size, speed, and reach of activism (local and
> internationally) 2) They had an impressive impact on the creation and
> development of new youth movements such as April 6th Youth Movement, and
> the use of ICTs were also a sign of identification for youth networks in
> Egypt 3) the combination of ?bits and streets? (digital communications and
> activities on ground), supersized not just the mobilizations but also the
> size of the threats that Mubarak?s regime experimented during the
> revolutionary dynamic. Under the coordination of Professor Maria Garrido,
> we are working in a study on the changing roles of Socia
> l Media in pro-democracy movements in Egypt between 2008 and 2011. This
> is part of the work of the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the
> University of Washington?s iSchool. Sooner than later we are going to
> present a working paper and a couple of papers about this topic and we will
> let you know about them by this list. Cheers Fernando L. Fernando Baron P.
> Ph.D. Candidate Information ScienceiSchoolUniversity of WashingtonSeattle,
> WA From: liberationtech-bounces at lists.stanford.edu [mailto:
> liberationtech-bounces at lists.stanford.edu] On Behalf Of Virginia Beard
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 7:45 AM
> To: Paul Rich
> Cc: hhfvk-3154007782 at pers.craigslist.org;
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring Thank you for the
> possibility of considering these issues. I agree with Dr. Diamond on the
> compleity beyond just the rising food prices, though recognize the
> important of such economic factors - along with political factors.
> Dr. Paula Booke and I are considering them in a paper we have written on
> whether evidence and literature suggests these revolutions would have taken
> place without social media/liberation technologies.
> From our (pre-published draft) paper, we find:
> "This paper assesses the possible impacts of social internet-based media
> venues in the recent Arab Spring. Findings suggest that political will
> resulting from a tipping point in political and economic grievances, as
> well as the presence of central mobilizing personalities, were the key
> factors driving the uprisings. Thus, social networks were important tools
> that shaped the form and broad-based access to the uprisings, but were not
> the only or prime factors driving the political and social changes the
> world has seen exploding across the Middle East and North Africa."
> Further, ideas such as those in this pop culture Guardian article also
> draw questions about how democratizing and positive in the public arena new
> forms of media, especially social media, might be given the contexts in
> which they are used:
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook
> "And does Facebook really connect people? Doesn't it rather disconnect us,
> since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and
> dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little
> ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my
> desk?"
> Especially if on venues such as Facebook, we create our identity in a
> mimetic space. This seems likely to undermine the (notably debated) role of
> civil society, per Putnam's "Bowling Alone" vein of dialogue:
> "Facebook appeals to a kind of vanity and self-importance in us, too. If I
> put up a flattering picture of myself with a list of my favourite things, I
> can construct an artificial representation of who I am in order to get sex
> or approval...It also encourages a disturbing competitiveness around
> friendship: it seems that with friends today, quality counts for nothing
> and quantity is king. The more friends you have, the better you are. You
> are "popular", in the sense much loved in American high schools. Witness
> the cover line on Dennis Publishing's new Facebook magazine: "How To Double
> Your Friends List." Quality community and civil engagement seem what is
> discussed by Putnam and de Tocqueville.
>
> Some thoughts to add to the dialogue.
> Sincerely,
> Virginia Beard, PhD
> Political Science
> Hope CollegeOn Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 9:18 AM, Paul Rich <
> pauljrich at gmail.com> wrote:Larry's point is well taken. Of course food
> has always had a political role, while the internet is a new additional
> factor that we need to study.
>
> This is an important debate. I feel that political science has let the
> side down because of its failure to fully consider the new influences on
> democratization issues. The discipline is rather moribund.
>
> Some of these issues are being discussed at a conference in September
> hosted by Oxford University's internet institute and
> the Policy Studies Organization's journal Policy & Internet
>
> Paul Rich
> President, PSO
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:50 AM, Larry Diamond <ldiamond at stanford.edu>
> wrote:Prashant,I think Thiel's view is way too simplistic. He is correct
> about the rise in food prices, but there were long simmering frustrations
> over bad, corrupt, abusive governance and the lack of freedom and human
> dignity that contributed to these explosions. And in any case, he is
> confusing causal triggers and means of mobilization. I think all the tools
> of Liberation Technology--from the Internet and social media to mobile
> phones and yes, in some places Twitter--made an important facilitating
> contribution to the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and the uprisings in
> a number of Arab countries that followed. See for example the article by
> Philip Howard and Muzammil Hussain in the July 2011 Journal of Democracy.
> As they conclude, "In each country people have used digital media to build
> a political response to a local experience of unjust rule. They were not
> inspired by Facebook; they were inspired
> by the real tragedies documented on Facebook. Social media have become
> the scaffolding upon which civil society can build, and new information
> technologies give activists things that they did not have before:
> information networks not easily controlled by the state and coordination
> tools that are already embedded in trusted networks of family and friends."
> This article can also be found in the new book I have c-edited with Marc
> Plattner, Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for
> Democracy. Thanks,Larry DiamondFrom: "Prashant Singh" <
> pacificleo at gmail.com>
> To: "liberationtech" <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:02:44 PM
> Subject: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
>
> Hi Guys
>
> Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a
> debate between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution
> of Technology in Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one
> point of time during the debate while discussing role of technology in
> enabling Arab Spiring and other revolution Thiel said"*When you talk
> about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
> > Google and Twitter ?? ?? liberating the world through information. But,
> > the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> > percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had become
> ??
> > you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who>
> revolted.*"
>
>
> is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole debat
> online at http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
>
> thanks
>
> --
> Prashant_______________________________________________
> liberationtech mailing list
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
>
> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
>
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
>
> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
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>
> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
>
> Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> _______________________________________________
> liberationtech mailing list
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
>
> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
>
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
>
> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
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> Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
>
> --
> Paul Rich
> President - Policy Studies Organization
> 1527 New Hampshire Ave., NW
> Washington, DC 20036
> Tel. (202) 483-2512 Fax (202) 483-2657
> www.ipsonet.org/ works.bepress.com/paulrich/
>
>
>
> --
> Virginia Beard, PhD
> 207 Lubbers Hall
> Hope College
> Department of Political Science
>
> ?Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid.?
> ~Albert Schweitzer
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> liberationtech mailing list
> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
>
> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
>
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
>
> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
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>
> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 12
> Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:23:40 +0200
> From: Andre Rebentisch <arebentisch at lxdesystems.com>
> To: Liberation Technologies <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: [liberationtech] FFII - European Commission net neutrality
> consultation excludes TOR users
> Message-ID: <500DCEEC.9030006 at lxdesystems.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15
>
> fyi
>
> [ EU / Blocking / TOR ]
> ==================================================================
> European Commission net neutrality consultation excludes TOR users
> ==================================================================
>
> Brussels, 23 July 2012 -- The European Commission blocks TOR users'
> access to its web site. TOR is an internet anonymisation technology and
> became widely popular for its facilitating role in the Arab spring
> movement.
>
> "This is ironic, the Commission is conducting a public consultation on
> net neutrality, and they already censor a part of the internet to access
> their site", finds FFII President Benjamin Henrion. He was troubled by
> the issue when he tried to access the consultation website from European
> Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
>
> "The European Commission is seeking answers to questions on specific
> aspects of transparency, traffic management and switching in an Open
> Internet", the website says. But TOR users receive a less inviting
> message: "Network Error (gateway_error) Server overloaded. The gateway
> may be temporarily unavailable, or there could be a network problem."
>
> ===================================================================
> Links
> ===================================================================
>
> EU Commission public consultation on "specific aspects of transparency,
> traffic management and switching in an Open Internet"
>
> http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/actions/oit-consultation/index_en.htm
>
> All-in-one TOR Browser:
> https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en
>
> Earlier reporting: EU sites blocked access by users of anonymizing services
>
> http://www.whioam.com/eu-sites-blocked-access-by-users-of-anonymizing-services.html
>
> Daten-speicherung.de: EU Commission gives up blocking TOR and VPN
> services [corrected 27 March 2012]
>
> http://www.daten-speicherung.de/index.php/eu-commission-gives-up-blocking-tor-and-vpn-services/
>
> Swedish Study: How the great firewall of China is blocking TOR:
> http://www.cs.kau.se/philwint/static/gfc/
>
> Permanent link to this press release:
>
> http://press.ffii.org/Press%20releases/European%20Commission%20net%20neutrality%20consultation%20excludes%20TOR%20users
>
> ==================================================================
> Contact
> ==================================================================
>
> FFII Office Berlin
> Malm?er Str. 6
> D-10439 Berlin
> Fon: +49-30-41722597
> Fax Service: +49-721-509663769
> Email: office (at) ffii.org
> http://www.ffii.org/
>
> ==================================================================
> About FFII
> ==================================================================
>
> The FFII is a not-for-profit association active in twenty European
> countries, dedicated to the development of information goods for the
> public benefit, based on copyright, free competition, open standards.
> More than 1000 members, 3,500 companies and 100,000 supporters have
> entrusted the FFII to act as their voice in public policy questions
> concerning exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data processing.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 13
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:06:41 -0700
> From: "Jillian C. York" <jilliancyork at gmail.com>
> To: Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <CAN=RHL=
> Va01PccLizBmTEy8-i0NFmf+kK+wKEyEZGNvAJuCqrA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> My two cents:
>
> I think it's most certainly too simplistic. Not only does it ignore the
> 5-10 year buildup of various online communities (as opposed to this idea
> that one Facebook page suddenly created activists), but of course also
> ignores the various offline factors which include food prices but also
> plenty more (labor protests dating back to 2008, the increasing awareness
> of police brutality, etc).
>
> I'd point to a source, but I honestly haven't yet seen a *single* source
> that covers everything. Some folks have done great work analyzing the
> online climate, others the offline, but?at least of what I've read thus
> far, which isn't everything?I haven't seen anyone pull it all together.
>
> -Jillian
>
> On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:02 PM, Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> >
> > Hi Guys
> >
> > Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a
> > debate between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution
> > of Technology in Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one
> > point of time during the debate while discussing role of technology in
> > enabling Arab Spiring and other revolution Thiel said
> >
> > "*When you talk about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
> >> Google and Twitter ?? ?? liberating the world through information. But,
> >> the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> >> percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had
> become ??
> >> you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who
> >> revolted.*"
> >
> >
> > is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> > Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole
> debat
> > online at
> http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >
> > thanks
> >
> > --
> > Prashant
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> > above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> > digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> > moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
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>
>
>
> --
> *+1-857-891-4244 |** jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork *
>
> "We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the
> seemingly impossible to become a reality" - *Vaclav Havel*
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 14
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:30:52 -0700
> From: Yosem Companys <companys at stanford.edu>
> To: "Jillian C. York" <jilliancyork at gmail.com>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID:
> <
> CANhci9EgcVRZuwoYi+AgE5SZxozy_HArr6970mX-gCg6HxcGrg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> One could just look at the social movement <http://is.gd/yS6WQi> and
> revolutions <http://is.gd/RbJb47> empirical literature:
>
> In that literature, scholars early on it was posited that
> grievances<http://is.gd/xkrP4T> (or
> relative deprivation) caused movements/revolutions (e.g., Davies'
> J-curve<http://is.gd/4QZZUA>).
> Comparative empirical research, however, showed that grievance levels
> would change over time, and yet there was no systematic correlation with
> revolutionary or movement activity.
>
> A new theory replaced that one that posited that
> resources<http://is.gd/r0GGlZ>(including tools/technologies) caused
> movements/revolutions. Once again, comparative empirical research
> showed that resource levels
> would change over time, and yet there was no systematic correlation with
> revolutionary or movement activity.
>
> In the revolutions literature, it was found that the strongest predictor of
> revolutions was rising expectations. In other words, when economic
> conditions improved and a socioeconomic group saw its status enhanced,
> revolutions were much more likely to happen. In fact, the same literature
> shows that worsening economic conditions may trigger riot and unrest but
> rarely trigger revolutions.
>
> In the political process theory of the social movement literature, it was
> found that the strongest predictor of movements was emerging
> opportunities<http://is.gd/vyLabZ>in the social structure. In other
> words, when changes to the social
> structure occurred such that the elites in power saw their power weaken
> vis-a-vis out-of-power challengers, challengers were most likely to demand
> political change. This can happen due to a variety of factors such as
> migratory patters, economic changes, and geopolitical changes, among
> others. Researchers have further found that these factors develop over
> long periods of time, such that most revolutions have 10+ years in the
> making.
>
> Moreover, political process theorists <http://is.gd/vyLabZ> note that a
> successful challenge requires the following factors:
>
> - Political opportunities that weaken the regime vis-a-vis challengers
> - Resource availability that enables the challengers to carry out a
> successful challenge, usually in the form of existing organizations,
> groups
> and/or networks
> - A space (usually in the form of existing organizations, groups and/or
> networks) from which the challengers can talk & develop solidarity to
> mount
> a massive campaign against the regime
> - An initial weak response to the challenge by the regime that enhances
> the challengers' self-efficacy and collective belief that these
> challengers
> will prevail. However, a regime can also overplay its hand and react
> with
> such violent force that it undermines its legitimacy in the eyes of the
> population.
>
> Thus, a revolutions/movements scholar seeking to explain the Arab Spring
> would most likely try to find evidence that rising expectations and
> opportunities were present. Then s/he would try to rule out that
> grievances or resources alone could have caused it. S/he would also expect
> to find that the movement had ready access to resources and collective
> solidarity, and that the regime either under- or over-played its hand.
>
> Best,
>
> Yosem
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 4:06 PM, Jillian C. York <jilliancyork at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > My two cents:
> >
> > I think it's most certainly too simplistic. Not only does it ignore the
> > 5-10 year buildup of various online communities (as opposed to this idea
> > that one Facebook page suddenly created activists), but of course also
> > ignores the various offline factors which include food prices but also
> > plenty more (labor protests dating back to 2008, the increasing awareness
> > of police brutality, etc).
> >
> > I'd point to a source, but I honestly haven't yet seen a *single* source
> > that covers everything. Some folks have done great work analyzing the
> > online climate, others the offline, but--at least of what I've read thus
> > far, which isn't everything--I haven't seen anyone pull it all together.
> >
> > -Jillian
> >
> > On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:02 PM, Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com
> >wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Hi Guys
> >>
> >> Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a
> >> debate between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution
> >> of Technology in Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one
> >> point of time during the debate while discussing role of technology in
> >> enabling Arab Spiring and other revolution Thiel said
> >>
> >> "*When you talk about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
> >>> Google and Twitter -- -- liberating the world through information.
> But,
> >>> the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> >>> percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had
> become --
> >>> you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who
> >>> revolted.*"
> >>
> >>
> >> is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> >> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole
> debat
> >> online at
> >> http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >>
> >> thanks
> >>
> >> --
> >> Prashant
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> liberationtech mailing list
> >> liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >>
> >> Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >>
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >> If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> >> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> >> digest?"
> >>
> >> You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> >> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >> Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >>
> >> Please don't forget to follow us on
> http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > *+1-857-891-4244 |** jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork *
> >
> > "We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want
> the
> > seemingly impossible to become a reality" - *Vaclav Havel*
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> > above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> > digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> > moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
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> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
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> >
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 15
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:03:32 -0700
> From: Yosem Companys <companys at stanford.edu>
> To: Liberation Technologies <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Cc: Johan Pouwelse <peer2peer at gmail.com>
> Subject: [liberationtech] Bar BoF at IETF 84: Media without censorship
> (CensorFree)
> Message-ID:
> <CANhci9GgJ-u8RMe674fkD39VpoVUfw6Z=
> ngRfJQeqgtcvswN3Q at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> From: Johan Pouwelse <peer2peer at gmail.com>
>
> Dear All,
>
> At the upcoming IETF meeting I'm trying to organize a bar BoF around
> enhancing privacy and reducing censorship.
>
> Hopefully people on this mailinglist are interested in these matters, could
> help improve the discussion document or can even attend this Bar BoF in
> person.
>
> Bar BoF name: Media without censorship (CensorFree)
> Location: IETF 84, Vancouver, Canada
> Date: 1st Aug 2012, 20:00 (Wednesday)
> Room: to be announced
> Discussion doc:
> https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-pouwelse-censorfree-scenarios/
> Bar BoF status: approved by Transport area directors (see CC:)
> Technology status: initial running code
> Abstract:
> This document describes some scenarios in which one can imagine that
> the ability of authoritarian regime to censor news dissemination is
> reduced. It tries to draw some conclusions about what's desirable
> and what's not acceptable for users in those scenarios.
> The CensorFree objective is to standardize the protocols for
> microblogging on smartphones with a focus on security and censorship
> resistance. Microblog entries are short text messages, possibly
> enriched with pictures or streaming video. The goal is to devise
> protocols which guard against all known forms of censorship such as:
> cyberspace sabotage, digital eavesdropping, infiltration, fraud,
> Internet kill switches and lawyer-based attacks with the best known
> protective methods.
>
> The discussion document lists some scenarios, but is still very much a work
> in progress.
> Hopefully the knowledge from draft-iab-privacy-considerations-03 and
> draft-iab-privacy-terminology-01 can be included in this doc real soon.
>
> Please reply if you are interested in these matters or have ideas on
> this direction.
> -Johan Pouwelse, Delft University of Technology
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 16
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:04:05 -0700
> From: Erik Sundelof <erik at sundelof.com>
> To: Yosem Companys <companys at stanford.edu>
> Cc: liberationtech <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [liberationtech] Peter Theil On Arab spring
> Message-ID: <DABBF30B-578A-46B4-85E6-72765C60441E at sundelof.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> This is a general comment about the topic.
>
> I think my main comment is that I believe the time spent to discuss a
> comment by Peter Thiel on a panel about what sparked the Arab spring is
> interesting. Yes it sparked a debate about the background of the Arab
> spring which is interesting per se, but I mostly see a danger/challenge
> addressing comments from complete outsiders to the movement,
>
> I do really like Jillian comment about the years of work and factors
> behind what happened. Oversimplifying the struggle and process that led to
> the Arab spring will only lead to one thing: popularism about THE reason
>
> The cynical side of me believes that comments such as Thiels mostly result
> in a skewed discussion about the validity or invalidity of what he said and
> not said, or what he understood or not understood etc etc. Unfortunately it
> does not end up in a discussion about the complexity of the movement that
> lead to the Arab spring and what the power of that movement really was.
>
> I truly believe us as humans tend to migrate towards the simple, singular
> answers when in fact the reality is not. Hiding from the fact that it was a
> large number of underlying factors for the Arab spring is lying to
> ourselves and I do not see it leading anywhere really.
>
> Sorry for being a bit cynical.
>
> Erik
>
> http://sundelof.com
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jul 23, 2012, at 4:30 PM, Yosem Companys <companys at stanford.edu> wrote:
>
> > One could just look at the social movement and revolutions empirical
> literature:
> >
> > In that literature, scholars early on it was posited that grievances (or
> relative deprivation) caused movements/revolutions (e.g., Davies' J-curve).
> Comparative empirical research, however, showed that grievance levels
> would change over time, and yet there was no systematic correlation with
> revolutionary or movement activity.
> >
> > A new theory replaced that one that posited that resources (including
> tools/technologies) caused movements/revolutions. Once again, comparative
> empirical research showed that resource levels would change over time, and
> yet there was no systematic correlation with revolutionary or movement
> activity.
> >
> > In the revolutions literature, it was found that the strongest predictor
> of revolutions was rising expectations. In other words, when economic
> conditions improved and a socioeconomic group saw its status enhanced,
> revolutions were much more likely to happen. In fact, the same literature
> shows that worsening economic conditions may trigger riot and unrest but
> rarely trigger revolutions.
> >
> > In the political process theory of the social movement literature, it
> was found that the strongest predictor of movements was emerging
> opportunities in the social structure. In other words, when changes to the
> social structure occurred such that the elites in power saw their power
> weaken vis-a-vis out-of-power challengers, challengers were most likely to
> demand political change. This can happen due to a variety of factors such
> as migratory patters, economic changes, and geopolitical changes, among
> others. Researchers have further found that these factors develop over
> long periods of time, such that most revolutions have 10+ years in the
> making.
> >
> > Moreover, political process theorists note that a successful challenge
> requires the following factors:
> > Political opportunities that weaken the regime vis-a-vis challengers
> > Resource availability that enables the challengers to carry out a
> successful challenge, usually in the form of existing organizations, groups
> and/or networks
> > A space (usually in the form of existing organizations, groups and/or
> networks) from which the challengers can talk & develop solidarity to mount
> a massive campaign against the regime
> > An initial weak response to the challenge by the regime that enhances
> the challengers' self-efficacy and collective belief that these challengers
> will prevail. However, a regime can also overplay its hand and react with
> such violent force that it undermines its legitimacy in the eyes of the
> population.
> > Thus, a revolutions/movements scholar seeking to explain the Arab Spring
> would most likely try to find evidence that rising expectations and
> opportunities were present. Then s/he would try to rule out that
> grievances or resources alone could have caused it. S/he would also expect
> to find that the movement had ready access to resources and collective
> solidarity, and that the regime either under- or over-played its hand.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Yosem
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 4:06 PM, Jillian C. York <jilliancyork at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > My two cents:
> >
> > I think it's most certainly too simplistic. Not only does it ignore the
> 5-10 year buildup of various online communities (as opposed to this idea
> that one Facebook page suddenly created activists), but of course also
> ignores the various offline factors which include food prices but also
> plenty more (labor protests dating back to 2008, the increasing awareness
> of police brutality, etc).
> >
> > I'd point to a source, but I honestly haven't yet seen a single source
> that covers everything. Some folks have done great work analyzing the
> online climate, others the offline, but?at least of what I've read thus
> far, which isn't everything?I haven't seen anyone pull it all together.
> >
> > -Jillian
> >
> > On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:02 PM, Prashant Singh <pacificleo at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Guys
> >
> > Recently at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, CO, there was a debate
> between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel about Contribution of Technology in
> Our Society . They touched upon many topic but at one point of time during
> the debate while discussing role of technology in enabling Arab Spiring
> and other revolution Thiel said
> >
> > "When you talk about the Arab spring, you can say that it's evidence of
> Google and Twitter ?? ?? liberating the world through information. But,
> the actual facts on the ground are that food prices rose by 30 to 50
> percent in the previous year and you basically had people who had become ??
> you had desperate people who had become more hungry than scared, who
> revolted."
> >
> > is he being too simplistic ? was there more to the revolution than just
> Food Price ? Would like to know your thoughts . you can see the whole debat
> online at http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/17/transcript-schmidt-thiel/
> >
> > thanks
> >
> > --
> > Prashant
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
> > Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > +1-857-891-4244 | jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork
> >
> > "We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want
> the seemingly impossible to become a reality" - Vaclav Havel
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
> >
> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
> moderator in monthly reminders. You may ask for a reminder here:
> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >
> > Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator.
> >
> > Please don't forget to follow us on http://twitter.com/#!/Liberationtech
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > liberationtech mailing list
> > liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu
> >
> > Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to:
> >
> > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
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> > If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click
> above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily
> digest?"
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> > You will need the user name and password you receive from the list
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