The Week of October 21st, 2013
Creative Commons picture by ucc.
Care
5. Google Reveals New Advocacy Tools
Google, which needs no introduction, released three new projects this past Monday. The first is an animated map of cyber attacks across the world. The attacks shown are a few days delayed, but are updated to show a constant stream of digital attacks and statistics about them. To view the graphic is, admittedly, quite incredible; and, it is apparently an attempt to raise awareness about the scope and significance of cyberwar. The second product is titled Project Shield; the project is a mechanism to protect small websites from DDoS attacks. These attacks, that simulate huge numbers of web hits on a site that force it to shut down, are easily defended against by large organizations with significant resources, but are a decisive weapon against small websites. The third product released was titled uProxy and it allows a hopeful web user to establish an encrypted link with another internet-user in order to access the web through the second system. Theoretically, this should allow residents of countries that restrict internet usage, like China or Iran, to bypass those barriers, assuming they have a trusted contact in a freer country.
These releases are interesting and exciting new developments that reveal a theme of Google’s web activism. While the company is seen as the archenemy of many web privacy activists, it is a major player pushing for universal web access. Along with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Google has consistently advocated for internet access as a new human right. Of course the educational and humanitarian potential of universal internet is clear, but the mission also serves the private purposes of the web giants by bringing more to their services. Google is currently developing Project Loon, a quirky scheme to spread internet to remote areas through balloons. The spread of the web and the reaction from bypassed states like China and Iran will be interesting to see.
4. Gay Marriage Approved in New Jersey
This past Monday, New Jersey joined twelve other states in legalizing gay marriage. The legalization comes not from the legislature, but rather from a judicial ruling. The judge ruled to legalize gay marriage in order to allow gay couples federal benefits that accompany marriage. Now that New Jersey has legalized gay marriage, the Northeast is the first region of America to have every state support marriage equality. Additionally, exactly half of the states that voted for Obama now support gay marriage. Even so, the other half has some form of civil union available to gay couples. On the other side of the aisle, no Republican state is pro-gay marriage; in fact, most Republican states have passed constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage.
This New Jersey ruling reflects a growing societal acceptance of gay marriage. An all-time high of 58 percent of Americans support marriage equality; and, even in extremely conservative states, such as Texas, more people support gay marriage than oppose it. This growing support comes in part from gay marriage becoming more of a personal issue rather than a societal fear. A vast majority of Americans now say they know someone who identifies as gay, which contributes to the view that gay marriage is “normal”. With this increased support, it seems likely that gay marriage will continue its progress towards legality in an increasing number of states. It is even possible that a Republican state may soon follow suit, at least if the GOP wants to stay with the times.
3. Detroit Bankruptcy Case Begins
This past Wednesday, court proceedings began in Michigan to determine if, and how, Detroit will be able to file for bankruptcy. The beleaguered city, which has suffered from financial and political difficulties for decades, has recently filed for bankruptcy in the face of $18.5 billion of debt and the inability to pay for its day to day operations. Opposing the city in this measure are unions and activists who fear this is an attempt to cut pensions, and who assert that bankruptcy was a the goal of the Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's administration from the beginning. This will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history if it occurs, and it could set a powerful precedent moving forward.
The city’s political situation severely complicates the issue. The previous mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for corruption earlier this month. The city is in the midst of a mayoral election in which one of the candidates in the runoff is a write-in candidate, he was not on the ballot and had to be written in by voters, a major disadvantage. Perhaps mayoral politics have less immediate significance now that the city is under the oversight of an Emergency Manager, a controversial measure implemented by Governor Snyder that is supposed to help communities in desperate situations but removes a large degree of local control. While Detroit's decades of depopulation and decline are unique among major U.S. cities, the problems, or fear, of increasing costs and inability to pay are seen throughout the Midwest. Illinois is struggling with a pension dispute in its legislature, and arguments over Detroit’s ability to pay for services will be familiar to those who followed the Chicago teachers strike of 2012. Detroit could prove an example of what state and municipalities could do to solve these problems in the future.
2. Saudi Arabia Rejects Security Council Seat in Frustration
Last Friday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry shocked its allies, rivals, and even domestic elites when it announced that the Kingdom would not assume its newly-elected position on the United Nations Security Council, declaring that the security body is ineffectual in resolving world conflicts. The non-permanent seat would give Saudi Arabia its first ever two-year term on the Council, allowing it a voice and a vote (but not a veto) on the premier global security stage. Each year, five members are rotated out of the ten temporary seats, replaced by five new countries that each must receive at least a two-thirds vote of approval in the General Assembly.
Saudi diplomatic magnates have recently become more vocal in their displeasure with America’s policies in the Middle East and with the Security Council’s ineffectuality, ranging from cancelling a speech at the General Assembly to vowing a major relations shift away from the United States. They are demanding substantive, but unspecified reforms to the Security Council and more diplomatic backing from the United States. They have voiced complaints on many fronts, including inaction in Syria, lack of support for Egypt’s new military-backed regime, and a thawing of US-Iranian relations. Despite these criticisms, many among the Saudi elite have continued to view a Security Council seat as an effective diplomatic route for the Kingdom, allowing it to take a more public and assertive position in global politics. The sudden and unexpected rejection on Friday highlighted the ongoing debate among the Saudis over whether their country would be better served by sticking to its traditionally discreet, behind-closed-doors diplomatic style or by adopting a more open strategy. Almost certainly a personal decision by King Abdullah, the move allows Saudi Arabia to continue its low-publicity foreign policy culture as it remains one of the world’s chief oil exporters and one of the United States’ most critical (and sometimes awkward) allies in the Middle East.
1. Diplomatic Disputes Over NSA Revelations
A recent report, released by the Guardian, reveals allegations that the United States may have spied on several of its biggest allies, namely France and Germany. The concern is related to the leaked information from the controversial Edward Snowden, which has snowballed into suspicion of US involvement in the wiretapping and the bugging of various EU leaders’ phones and offices. The claim grabbing headlines is that the personal cell phone of Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was tapped. The reaction has been one of outrage. Merkel called President Barack Obama this past week to vocalize her anger, saying that if such espionage had happened it would be “totally unacceptable.” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that Obama reassured Merkel and that the US does not currently tap her phone, and will not in the future. Perhaps this was implied, but he was unclear as to whether the U.S. had in the past.
Diplomatic incidents like this serve to undermine the levels of trust between strong allies like the US and the slowly solidifying EU. When Snowden first made his information public several months ago, the main allies of the US were stalwart in their support. The coordinated diversion this summer of the Bolivian President’s plane over rumors that Snowden was on board was a strong show of support for the US from its European allies. Now that it has come to light that the US was perhaps less than honest in its dealings with them, this support may be less constant than previously supposed. Similar acts of surveillance are standard within the United States for quite some time now, as revealed by earlier Snowden leaks. This betrayal of trust between the US at its allies shows that omnipresent surveillance may not be best for the relationships of even the friendliest of states. Ironically, even if no hard evidence of US spying on Germany and France comes forth, suspicion alone could be enough to poison long term trust.
Don’t Care
0. Domestic Furor Over Drone Strikes
Part of Amnesty International’s stated mission is to “conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights.” Their research has been consistently discerning; their track record on action has been poor. Despite Amnesty’s not unreasonable accusations against Israeli officials and George W. Bush, neither party has been or will be tried in anyway. Such will be the case for the next target of the organization: President Obama. Amnesty International has called upon Congress to investigate dozens of attacks in Pakistan involving unmanned aerial vehicles, many of which they argue have killed civilians. Human Rights Watch has concurrently released a report on UAVs targeting civilians in Yemen, and a week ago the United Nations published that at least 450 civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen were killed by attacks emanating from drone strikes.
With limited information coming from the US and the targeted nations, it is rare to have all of the facts in these cases. However, what has been released from the report had gruesome details. Among the civilian casualties in Pakistan was Mamana Bibi, an old lady who was tending her garden. As her grandson came to help her after the strike, he was killed as well.
Pakistani officials did release information to the UN after mass popular protests against the use of drones in their country. While the Pakistani government has decried America’s strikes before, they have routinely enabled them to continue. Some critics of the drone strikes may be hopeful that Pakistan’s leader, Nawaz Sharif, requested to Obama’s face last Thursday that America limits drone use in his country. However, one week before this American officials stated that they intend to offer over $1.5 billion in aid to Pakistan over the next year. As the third largest recipient of US foreign aid, they have to be doing something in return.