19 posts and columns on Afghanistan

Cyberwar: It’s Not Just Fiction Anymore

in News on July 16, 2011 at 3:22 pm PT

After surviving numerous devastating wars throughout history, humanity is well acquainted with war in the physical realm. But we’re still unfamiliar with the concept of cyberwar, except perhaps in movie thrillers. That’s all about to change.
Warroom

A New Role for Honeywell's T-Hawk

in News on April 20, 2011 at 12:00 am PT

Crews trying to control Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan are using a tool seen by only a few people outside the military: an 18-inch flying machine that can zip around at 50 miles an hour, stop quickly, and hover while taking videos and radioactivity readings.

In Yet Another Content Hook-Up, AOL Strikes Deal With Endemol

in News on January 12, 2011 at 9:10 am PT

AOL’s strategy to partner with third-party content creators for original programming–especially premium video content–keeps ticking, with another programming partnership with Endemol USA. The New York-based Internet company said it would “co-develop and co-produce new Web programming initially aimed at AOL’s growing women’s audience” with Endemol, makers of such fine television shows as “Jerseylicious.”

Website for Leaked Data Shines Spotlight on WikiLeaks

in News on October 26, 2010 at 11:07 am PT

WikiLeaks publishes top-secret documents about government and corporate intrigue. Then there is John Young, who publishes documents about WikiLeaks. From his apartment on New York City’s Upper West Side, the 70-something architect, computer buff and self-described “cypherpunk” runs a website, http://cryptome.org, that seeks to hold accountable the site that boasts of holding others to account.

News Byte

Under Investigation, WikiLeaks Founder Hires Top Lawyer

in News on August 24, 2010 at 1:15 pm PT

Julian Assange, founder of whistleblowing site WikiLeaks, has hired a top Swedish lawyer in advance of a decision about whether or not he’ll face charges of molestation in the wake of events late last week. Authorities issued an arrest warrant Friday night based on an allegation of rape, but withdrew it Saturday morning. Assange insists the claims are part of a smear campaign to discredit him and his site amidst its deadlock with the Pentagon over the release of classified documents about the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

How WikiLeaks Keeps Its Funding Secret

in News on August 23, 2010 at 12:00 am PT

The controversial website WikiLeaks, which argues the cause of openness in leaking classified or confidential documents, has set up an elaborate global financial network to protect a big secret of its own—its funding.

News Byte

Congressman Would Support Death Penalty for WikiLeaks Suspect

in News on August 3, 2010 at 12:30 pm PT

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., wants WikiLeaker suspect PFC Bradley Manning to be charged with treason for his alleged role in the release of classified U.S. military documents on the controversial Web site. In an interview on a local Michigan radio station, Rogers, a House Intelligence Committee member, surmised that last week’s leak of thousands of field reports from Afghanistan will likely result in the deaths of U.S. soldiers, and pointed out that treason during wartime is a capital offense. “I would support it 100 percent,” Rogers emphasized. Thus far, Manning has been charged with the leak of “Collateral Murder,” the airstrike video that WikiLeaks published in April, and a classified cable from the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik that was also published on the site. He is also charged with illegally obtaining and leaking classified State Department cables, but the AP reports that “it’s not clear from the charges whether the allegedly diverted documents were those published on the WikiLeaks site.” Manning is considered the prime suspect in the leak of the documents posted by the site last week.

Q&A: WikiLeaks and the Future of Whistleblowing

in News on July 27, 2010 at 10:35 am PT

The disclosure of 76,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan by WikiLeaks has set off a round of damage control by the White House. But what does the release mean for citizen journalism online, and how does technology play into such leaks?

Demand Media’s Richard Rosenblatt and ProPublica’s Paul Steiger Live at D8

in D8 on June 3, 2010 at 9:10 am PT

What’s the future of the media business? Demand Media, the Google-savvy “content farm” that generates thousands of computer-assigned, low-cost Web items a day? Or ProPublica, a nonprofit that produces deep-dive investigative pieces and publishes them on its own site and in the pages of high-profile partners? Good guess: Some of both. But let’s allow both parties to make their own case.
Richard Rosenblatt and Paul Steiger

Viral Video: U.S. Soldiers Channel Lady Gaga

in News on May 3, 2010 at 2:36 am PT

It’s hard not to love this entertaining spoof of Lady Gaga’s music video hit “Telephone,” redone by a group of U.S. soliders stationed in Afghanistan. Titled “Telephone: The Afghanistan Re-Make,” it’s deeply compelling in its amateur charm. And the beefy dude who looks like he could kill you with his bare hands can truly bust move.

BoomTown Decodes Google CEO Schmidt's Shut-Up-You-Whiny-News-Folk Op-Ed (So You Don't Have To)!

in News, December 3, 2009 at 1:30 pm PT

Bing's Take on Twitter Trends Differs From Twitter's

in News, December 1, 2009 at 1:34 pm PT