This posting was prompted by the recent cyber-attacks launched on U.S. government and South Korean websites. It was initially thought that the North Korean government was responsible, but now news reports indicate that it may have been the work of a broader spectrum of players, including prankers and industrial spies. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that such attacks are nothing new and will persist as long as information technology increasing and at hyper-speed becomes more and more a part of our daily lives.
Fifteen years ago, on New Year's Day 1994, approximately 4,000 insurgents of the Zapatista Liberation Army (EZLN) led by Sub-commandante Marcos, occuppied six towns in Chiapas and declared war against the Mexican government. At the time I was doing an internship at the Rand Corp. with David Ronfeldt, a genius policy analyst and strategist, and now a good friend. We looked at this, the first case of a social "netwar" where a group of transnational NGO activists formed a vast, highly networked, transnational coalition to constrain the Mexican government's response to the Zapatista insurgency in Chiapas. Throughout the 90's Sub-commandante Marcos become a household name in Mexico and support for the EZLN remained moderate, especially in its stronghold in Chiapas. Today, support is almost non-existent, but you can still buy a Sub-commandante Marcos T-shirt online or outside the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, (UNAM), and read his communiques online.
The recent cyber-attacks against South Korea and the United States (supposedly supported and led by North Korea) while different in their purpose and organization illustrate how the global information revolution has and will continuously change the nature of social conflict.
See Chapter Sixteen: A Comment on the Zapatista “Netwar” by David Ronfeldt and Armando Bravo Martinez in the book:
In Athena's Camp
Friday, July 10, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Wishing His Holiness a Happy Birthday!
Today is His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 74th birthday. Thousands of Tibetan exiles in India and Nepal celebrated His Holiness's birthday. Yesterday, thousands stood in monsoon seasonal rains waiting outside His Holiness' residence in Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile to join the birthday celebrations. His Holiness said that everyday is a new beginning, a fresh day, not just birthdays.
Born in 1935 in northeastern Amdo province of Tibet, Lhamo Dhondrub was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of 2. He was brought to Lhasa in October 1939, and enthroned as the head of the state of Tibet on February 22, 1940.
He fled to Dharamsala after a failed uprising against Chinese rule on March 10, 1959.
The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign for democracy and freedom in his homeland.
A total of 140,000 Tibetans now live in exile, nearly 110,000 of them in 35 settlements across India. Six million Tibetans live inside Tibet.
Today, Indian and Australian governemnt officials meet in New Delhi to celerate His Holiness' birthday....strangely enough he shares his birth date with George W. Bush. At a luncheon here in San Francisco at St. Martin de Porres, His Holiness said he loved George Bush, that he was a great human being, but that his policies were a different matter. (See post Lunch with a Living Buddha from April, 2009)
Strangely enough, there are no news reports as of yet as to celebrations in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which were most likely kept to a very low profile by Chinese authorities.
We hope one day in the years to come, he may have the opportunity to celebrate in Lhasa with his people.
Born in 1935 in northeastern Amdo province of Tibet, Lhamo Dhondrub was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of 2. He was brought to Lhasa in October 1939, and enthroned as the head of the state of Tibet on February 22, 1940.
He fled to Dharamsala after a failed uprising against Chinese rule on March 10, 1959.
The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign for democracy and freedom in his homeland.
A total of 140,000 Tibetans now live in exile, nearly 110,000 of them in 35 settlements across India. Six million Tibetans live inside Tibet.
Today, Indian and Australian governemnt officials meet in New Delhi to celerate His Holiness' birthday....strangely enough he shares his birth date with George W. Bush. At a luncheon here in San Francisco at St. Martin de Porres, His Holiness said he loved George Bush, that he was a great human being, but that his policies were a different matter. (See post Lunch with a Living Buddha from April, 2009)
Strangely enough, there are no news reports as of yet as to celebrations in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which were most likely kept to a very low profile by Chinese authorities.
We hope one day in the years to come, he may have the opportunity to celebrate in Lhasa with his people.
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