Beware Of Just Relying On The Internet And New Media

just don't know enough about this but it seems like one of the lessons we are getting from the repression in Iran is just how vulnerable and easily internet communication is to censorship and repressive spying.

"Several reports indicate Internet access in Iran has been disrupted since the election this weekend. And while there is some disagreement over the source of that disruption, there is no doubt that Iranians’ connection to the outside world is precarious. The nation's state-run Internet provider, Data Communications Iran (DCI,) gets its bandwidth from six regional providers. On Saturday, only one of those six pipes was operating normally, according to an analysis by that New Hampshire-based Renesys Corp., a firm that observes Internet traffic flow. That means almost all traffic in and out of Iran flowed through one set of fiber-optic cables passing through Turkey. The pipe would be easy to cut, and relatively easy to filter according to content."

Iran may be an extreme case with only one internet pipe tthe outside world and a controlled and concentrated infrastructure. Still, around the world we are seeing that governments are finding it relatively easy to see and conrol what people are seeing, transmitting and saying.

"And while listeners could tune into radio broadcasts in anonymity, it’s often trivial for countries to observe what their citizens do when they’re online.

“It's actually a very dangerous medium to communicate in," Pain said. "That's counterintuitive, but it's true. ... And most people don't know what's at stake."

Ultimately, almost all Internet traffic into and out of a country must flow through one or more "backbone" providers. Even wireless Internet access through Wi-Fi or cell phones, which might seem to avoid land lines, ultimately must find their way onto the Web through a backbone. In a country like Iran or China, where there is only one state-run ISP, filtering is relatively easy.

This shows just how important it is for all of us who still believe in freedom to find many ways to know and communicate with each others and get our message out there.

Glenn Beck has been talking about the importance of meeting each other personally and having phone contact info.Plain old flyers, posters and pamphlets can also play a big role as well as rallies and lots of personal small group interactions.

I hate to say that we are going to have to think about things like this in the United States Of America- but it's not a joke;We are. It's clear that websites like this are being monitored and we have seen the state make bold moves to punish people they consider "wrong" or enemies. The recent Auto dealer purge being a good example.

We can't just assume we are living in a free country and we can speak openly and challenge government authority without fear. That hasn't been to true for a while and it's becoming less so by the hour.