Very interesting find, Arthur.
As the forces of repression globalize, so
do those of the resistance?
Cheers,
Lawry
From:
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[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Cordell, Arthur: ECOM
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005
11:36 AM
To: FUTUREWORK (E-mail)
Subject: [Futurework] FW:
BLOGS/riots
-----Original Message-----
From: Internet Studies at Queen's
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Stephen
Marmura
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005
11:18 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: BLOGS/riots
Youths 'use blogs to plan riots'
Wednesday, November 9, 2005 Posted: 1525 GMT (2325 HKT)
PARIS, France (Reuters) -- France's
government is policing cyberspace as well as rundown suburbs in the battle to
end two weeks of rioting.
Young rioters are using blog messages to incite violence and cell
phones to organize attacks in guerrilla-like tactics they have copied from
anti-globalization protesters, security experts say.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has diverted resources to monitoring blogs
-- short for Web logs -- in an effort to anticipate the movements of the
protesters, who have set fire to thousands of cars since the unrest began on
October 27.
Two youths were placed under official investigation, one step short of pressing
charges under French law, early on Wednesday on suspicion of inciting violence
over the Internet after urging people to riot in blogs, a judicial source said.
But tracking rioters' blogs is a big task for the security services, already
stretched by the violence on the ground.
"This is a new dimension to take into consideration," said Internet
security expert Solange Ghernaouti-Helie.
"To do the tracking on the Internet to identify the people involved is
without doubt possible. But it requires considerable surveillance and analysis
resources," she said.
Blogs are easy-to-publish Web sites where millions of people post commentary.
Those allegedly posted by the two youths under investigation were made in
online diaries hosted by Skyblog, a Web site belonging to popular youth radio
station Skyrock.
Skyblog's site says it hosts over three million blogs, with thousands added
each day. One of those urging people to riot -- since deactivated by Skyrock --
read: "Unite, burn the cops."
Some bloggers have urged people not to incite violence.
The host of bouna93.skyblog.com, a memorial blog for the two youths whose
deaths sparked the riots, urged contributors to respect the dead boys, adding:
"It would be preferable not to make racist, fascist comments or to give
rendez-vous spots."
Youths are also using cell phones to coordinate the violence, mainly blamed on
frustration over racism and unemployment, and to evade the police once the
riots are underway.
"Text messages and mobile phones ... help small groups of rioters,"
said criminologist Alain Bauer. "They can connect easily. It's not only a
way to avoid the police, it's a way to organize the fires."
The rioters have learnt from anti-globalization protesters, some of whom have
used cell phones to coordinate riots at meetings of the Group of Eight
industrial nations and the World Trade Organization in recent years, Bauer
said.
"I think they learnt from what they saw on television. I think
anti-globalization movements and rioters have the same way to organize -- or to
disorganize the police," he said. "It's old guerrilla tactics with
modern technology."
The political establishment is also harnessing technology to amass and organize
support.
The ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) has tapped into intense Web
traffic searching for information on the unrest to try to rally support for the
tough line taken against rioters by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the
party's president.
Since the weekend, searches on Google for words such as "riots" or
"burned cars" in French have thrown up a link to a UMP site where
readers are invited to put their names to a petition supporting Sarkozy's
policy of "firmness".
A UMP official said more than 12,000 people had registered their support via
the online petition since Sunday.
Copyright 2005 Reuters.
All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,
or redistributed.
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