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Open Think Tank Articles
Colette Grace Mazzucelli: The explosive growth of mobile phone use in developing countries brings human rights abuses to the world’s attention. International civil society could become a bulwark of protection against oppressive regimes.
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Interviews at DLD: Peter Berger of the website Suite101.com asserts that it is essential for governments to participate in social media. New media is making the spread of information across borders instantaneous.
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Global Must Read Articles
It is time to use drones to benefit human rights advocacy. ++ Drones could replace the Arab League observers who suspended their operations in Syria last week. ++ The evidence could be broadcast to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court. ++ An environmental group uses drones to monitor illegal Japanese whaling. ++ Whilst violating national airspace may undermine the norms of
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Tiny Israel has long depended on the United States for military aid and security. But Israel is also vital to the economic interests of the United States. ++ Despite being smaller than the state of New Jersey, Israel is a global leader in microchip design, military technology and water recycling, and many US companies depend on Israel for critical parts and services. ++ Now, in a time of acute
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According to American experts, the United States will have a hard time engaging in future conflicts in space. The 2003 Columbia disaster and increasing security concerns are set to force NASA to retire its Space Shuttle fleet in 2010, instead of prolonging its mission until 2022 as initially planned. The U.S. will have to make do without the shuttles for at least five years, until the replacement
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Recent events in Iran and China have demonstrated the impressive power
of the internet. Iranians used web communication technologies like Twitter to
spread reports and images of their protests worldwide, despite attempts at
government censorship. In China a massive online resistance was formed against
new filter software to be placed in all computers, one which would protect
children form
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According to the WWF, the world is living beyond its environmental means. ++ Environmental organizations state that to offset carbon dioxide emissions, new forests are needed. ++ This oversimplifies the problem and does not take technological advances into consideration, creating an “alarming message”. ++ The “ecological footprints” show the only thing the world is running out of is space to
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The debate on renewable energy sources produced many failed ideas and attempts. ++ Hence, the motto that viable fusion energy is “20 years away and always will be.” ++ But the government sponsored National Ignition Faculty with its promise to deliver carbon free electricity creates new hope. ++ Time will tell whether the promise will be delivered, but what’s for sure is that
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The exponentially increasing use of robotics on the modern battlefield challenges our current understanding of technology and war in much the same way that technological advances revolutionized warfare during World War I. By the end of 2008 the estimated number of US unmanned operating systems (robots) taking part in the Iraq War could be as high as 12,000 units.
Military
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Having used the Internet with great success during his campaign, Obama has announced plans to build up the US’ Internet infrastructure to boost the economy. ++ The US only ranks 15th in the world in access to high-speed Internet. ++ Better access would “spread knowledge, promote entrepreneurship and make this country more competitive globally.” ++ As a supporter of
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In the footsteps of Microsoft and Google, everyone is speculating about the next big disruptive change in the technology industry. ++ From the original dreams of AI, to web 3.0 and the “semantic web,” the aim has evolved from making smart machines to using dumb machines to assist human intelligence by connecting categorized data. ++ The technique needs perfecting but bids and competition are
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The time is ripe for international action on global warming, argues Columbia Economist Jeffrey Sachs. Scientists have clearly identified the causes of the problem, as well as affordable solutions, and recommendations must be implemented in advance of the 2012 expiration of the Kyoto Protocol. Since public awareness of the risks at hand has risen sharply and demands for action are peaking in
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Though the space race battles of the cold war are long past, Russia is now poised to challenge the US in a twenty-first century technological battle: satellite navigation. This $15 billion market is currently dominated by the US Global Positioning System (GPS), raising fears that monopoly control could lead to a US shut-off in a time of crisis. Russia hopes to introduce eight navigation
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A comprehensive “all-hazard” approach, incorporating all involved international agencies, is necessary to protect the world’s population from biological harm, argue Andreas Wenger and Sergio Bonin of the Center for Security Studies in Zurich. Their ETH security policy analysis examines the rising risk of biohazards resulting from increased global mobility, rapid advancement in scientific
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