Friday, 25 February 2011
Libya
Further to my previous post, the Libyan people were not able to to make use of technology to the same extent as the Egyptians. It is apparent thay they were still able to stage a revolution and an uprising. This is testament to their courage and ability to organise themselves on the street. The willingness of the outgoing regime to use force against its own people is making the task that much more difficult. Hopefully the Libyan people who are tired of being repressed by dictatorship will succeed to create a freer and fairer society. I wish them success with or without social network sites.
Internet Revolution -Cairo
Having spent a considerable amount of time in Cairo working with the Egyptian people, I feel confident that they will be able to to work together to achieve a plural and secular democracy which takes into account the wishes of all the people whether they are religious or not , whether they are Muslim or Christian.
The news media have once again emphasised the role that the Internet and social network sites
have played in organising the revolution or uprising. In my view they have exaggerated this role.
Obviously, social network media have improved communication between the protestors but the role of the Internet should not be overstated. One million people meeting on a social network site does not constitute a revolution: a revolution cannot be achieved within virtual reality.
If the news media are to be believed the Egyptian uprising could not have succeeded without the Internet. This is nonsense.
The success of the uprising was mainly the result of two factors. The first was the fact that the Egyptian people were able to overcome their fear and mobilise physical demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people. The second factor was the unwillingness of a well organised Army to act violently against its own people.
When counter revolutionary forces attacked the demonstrators with actual weapons the demonstrators had to protect themselves with barricades and stones and warning signs of attack were drummed out by sticks against iron railings. In this situation social network sites, Ipods , SMS texts and portable 'phones were useless; good old fashioned human confrontation was the order of the day.
We should learn from history that most revolutions were organised by word of mouth and pamphleteers and above all by the bravery of the dissidents. Even the American Revolution or struggle for independence was organised along these lines. Another lesson we should learn from history is that one despot can be replaced easily by another;but in the case of Egypt I believe that they will be able organise a free society which will benefit their country and their region.
A strong independent and democratic Egypt may well lead to a solution of many of the problems of the Middle East including eventual rapprochement between the Israelis and Palestinians - time will tell.
We should not exaggerate the influence of technology on social change; it is face to face contact and communication and above all courage in the real world that effects change. The Internet is no more important as an agent of change than a stone, a barricade or a gun.
The news media have once again emphasised the role that the Internet and social network sites
have played in organising the revolution or uprising. In my view they have exaggerated this role.
Obviously, social network media have improved communication between the protestors but the role of the Internet should not be overstated. One million people meeting on a social network site does not constitute a revolution: a revolution cannot be achieved within virtual reality.
If the news media are to be believed the Egyptian uprising could not have succeeded without the Internet. This is nonsense.
The success of the uprising was mainly the result of two factors. The first was the fact that the Egyptian people were able to overcome their fear and mobilise physical demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people. The second factor was the unwillingness of a well organised Army to act violently against its own people.
When counter revolutionary forces attacked the demonstrators with actual weapons the demonstrators had to protect themselves with barricades and stones and warning signs of attack were drummed out by sticks against iron railings. In this situation social network sites, Ipods , SMS texts and portable 'phones were useless; good old fashioned human confrontation was the order of the day.
We should learn from history that most revolutions were organised by word of mouth and pamphleteers and above all by the bravery of the dissidents. Even the American Revolution or struggle for independence was organised along these lines. Another lesson we should learn from history is that one despot can be replaced easily by another;but in the case of Egypt I believe that they will be able organise a free society which will benefit their country and their region.
A strong independent and democratic Egypt may well lead to a solution of many of the problems of the Middle East including eventual rapprochement between the Israelis and Palestinians - time will tell.
We should not exaggerate the influence of technology on social change; it is face to face contact and communication and above all courage in the real world that effects change. The Internet is no more important as an agent of change than a stone, a barricade or a gun.
Monday, 7 February 2011
Dark skies
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is campaigning to reduce light pollution. Last week my wife and I went out after dark to see how many stars we could observe within the constellation of Orion - but not counting the major stars which make up the corner of the box. On a very clear night we could count just seven. This is shameful. We are located right at the edge of London in the borough of Bromley. We are not avid astronomers and do not get up in the early hours of the morning to peer through a telescope but we do love to see the stars and the constellations.
The CPRE and Astronomical organisations have come up with a number of reasons why we should have dark skies citing the waste of energy as one of them. For me, however, there is only one compelling reason - which is the sheer beauty of the night sky when seen from a very dark location.
During the Christmas period of 1999, whilst on a trip to France, there was a major power cut which turned off the lights over a vast area of the North. The view of the night sky was incredible; we found it difficult to identify the constellations as there were too many stars. There were thousands. From our location in London we can probably only see a couple of hundred stars.
You may well ask what difference does it make whether you can see the stars or not. The stars are our connexion with the rest of the galaxy. The more that you can appreciate the night sky the more you can appreciate the astronomical forces which dictate our life on earth.
There are more than two hundred billion stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and only the most bright are visible and identifiable from earth. It is possible, however, to see the faint luminous band which comprises the rest of the Milky Way from a dark location. This is impossible from a light polluted location such as Bromley.
Our solar system is the only one in the whole galaxy which is proven to support life. Our planet is the only planet which is known to support intelligent life. It will be extremely difficult to for us to travel to another planet let alone the nearest neighbouring star which is trillions of kilometres away.
We should look after our planet it may not be possible to get to another one that can support life.
That is why we need dark skies to appreciate our galaxy and our place in it.
http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/light-pollution/start-count-week-2011?gclid=CKa6n4a39qYCFQZO4QodjjZmGg
The CPRE and Astronomical organisations have come up with a number of reasons why we should have dark skies citing the waste of energy as one of them. For me, however, there is only one compelling reason - which is the sheer beauty of the night sky when seen from a very dark location.
During the Christmas period of 1999, whilst on a trip to France, there was a major power cut which turned off the lights over a vast area of the North. The view of the night sky was incredible; we found it difficult to identify the constellations as there were too many stars. There were thousands. From our location in London we can probably only see a couple of hundred stars.
You may well ask what difference does it make whether you can see the stars or not. The stars are our connexion with the rest of the galaxy. The more that you can appreciate the night sky the more you can appreciate the astronomical forces which dictate our life on earth.
There are more than two hundred billion stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and only the most bright are visible and identifiable from earth. It is possible, however, to see the faint luminous band which comprises the rest of the Milky Way from a dark location. This is impossible from a light polluted location such as Bromley.
Our solar system is the only one in the whole galaxy which is proven to support life. Our planet is the only planet which is known to support intelligent life. It will be extremely difficult to for us to travel to another planet let alone the nearest neighbouring star which is trillions of kilometres away.
We should look after our planet it may not be possible to get to another one that can support life.
That is why we need dark skies to appreciate our galaxy and our place in it.
http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/light-pollution/start-count-week-2011?gclid=CKa6n4a39qYCFQZO4QodjjZmGg
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