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Fighting terrorism, do the ends justify the means?

The death of Osama Bin Laden, at the hands of US Navy Seals in a covert operation on Pakistani soil, without the knowledge of Pakistani security forces, raised serious questions about sovereignty. It’s an understandably emotive subject and there are those who argue that in cases such as this the ends justify the means, the removing of Bin Laden as a threat to global peace more than warrants the actions of the United States. Yet this stance raises questions about the legitimacy of the war on terror, if the Navy Seals could conduct an operation of this nature in Pakistan without Pakistan’s consent, where else can they go unilaterally?

Today we’re asking you to have your say on this important issue. Use the comments section below and voice your opinion on the right of nations to chase down their threats across international borders. Do the ends justify the means?

CHROMEBOOK - The future of computing is in the wingu (cloud)!

The cloud-based gadget allows users to access Chrome…and that’s it.

With a Chromebook you won’t wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You’ll be reading your email in seconds.

Thanks to automatic updates the software on your Chromebook will get faster over time.

Your apps, games, photos, music, movies and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won’t need to worry about losing your computer or forgetting to back up files.

Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single charge, so you don’t need to carry a power cord everywhere.

And with optional 3G, just like your phone, you’ll have the web when you need it.

Chromebooks have many layers of security built in so there is no anti-virus software to buy and maintain. Even more importantly, you won’t spend hours fighting your computer to set it up and keep it up to date.

Check for the full story on Google.com

#Chromebook #wingu #cloud computing #google laptop

A child’s future up in smoke

When I was 5, I had very little idea of what I would be when I grew up, photos from that period seem to indicate I had an interest in the military, law enforcement (either as a policeman or super hero) and any number of other professions my mother could find “adorable” outfits for. I remember going through an ambitious period in which I knew beyond doubt that I was going to be a professional footballer (sometimes I still tell people that I could have been if only I’d been slightly taller/faster/better/less prone to unsporting behaviour).

The journey through school, university and trying a number of jobs before settling into my chosen (but possibly not final) career choice was all a mystery to five year old me. Yet in Malawi 5 year olds are entering their final career choices every year and they’re not choosing normal five year old jobs like superhero, nurse, teacher or ninja turtle. It is estimated that as many as 78 000 children work as labourers on tobacco farms in Malawi’s Kasungu region. Most of them start work at the age of 5. In a country where only about 35% of children finish primary school few farm labourers ever learn to read or write. These child labourers are not selling out there education for a life of riches either, for a year of working 12 hours a day for six days a week children will receive Green Tobacco Syndrome (caused by the absorption of 54mg of dissolved nicotine daily through the skin) and the princely sum of almost $100 per year. That’s $100 per year so that western yuppies can drag coolly on a fashionable mouth held fire.

The largest clients of the Malawi tobacco industry are Phillip Morris International and British American Tobacco and almost every cigarette smoked in the west contains Malawian tobacco. The problem for Malawi’s farmers is that breaking even in the tobacco game is very difficult so cutting costs is essential for them, hence child labour. Farmers are protected by the Malawi government because exports of the product account for 70% of the nation’s income. What drives all this and ultimately forces young children into a life of hardship? Smoking does.

The health concerns related to smoking are well known but if you choose to continue smoking despite the warnings that’s fair enough, it’s your lungs and there are few children in Africa who will suffer from your premature descent into poor health, unless you have children in Africa of course. But by purchasing cigarettes you are perpetuating a cycle of exploitation. Every year tax increases push the retail price of cigarettes higher but the increased revenue is not ploughed into education and intervention programmes in Malawi, they fund needless referendums that people don’t take the time to understand.

The only way this will ever change is if more money from the purchase of cigarettes is used to improve the lives of communities where the tobacco is grown. This means paying for cigarettes so more can be paid for the tobacco so more can be paid for the labour and children can go to school while their parents work for a decent wage. It also means that tobacco companies must ensure that regulations around working conditions are enforced on its suppliers, really enforced, not simply agreed to and hoped for.

Why should we care? Even those of us who don’t have children were 5 once and we know the hope that being 5 brings. Imagine never knowing that hope, or even worse knowing hope but knowing your hope is futile, knowing that you’ll never be more than a pair of hands used to carry leaves around. No person would balk at paying extra for the education and future of their child, so who are we to refuse to pay more for the future of a generation of children living in Malawi? How can we celebrate our commitment to development and prosperity, pointing to G8 commitments and aid spending when the simple act of lighting up is condemning thousands of youngsters to miss out on a life they choose for themselves?

#Smoking #Malawi #British American Tobacco #Phillip Morris International #Africa #children #G8

An opportunity for peace

On Monday 2 May 2011 the world woke up to the news that the most wanted man on earth, Osama Bin Laden, had been killed by US forces in Pakistan. The purpose of this post is not to make sweeping judgements on either side of this conflict, or to declare who is right. The idea bounced around at KnowWingu has been that now that the primary objective of the United States’ war on terror has been achieved, the potential for a peaceful evolution of American foreign policy truly exists.

The problem with the war on terror is that its objectives were contradictory. Bringing the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks to justice was necessary and required the use of force. However, diminishing the number and effectiveness of terrorist cells is in reality a peaceful operation with minimal forceful support. This is debated by pro-war types but the fact is that you cannot reduce the number of terrorists by killing terrorists; every terrorist who dies creates terrorists of his or her friends, relatives and sympathisers. The true cause of terrorism is poverty combining with a clear ideological enemy, giving young and destitute people a cause.

It is certainly true that 99% of young people would rather work at decent jobs, have families and live normal lives than to spend their time and give up their lives fighting an ideological war against a powerful enemy. The one per cent who uses terrorism to try gain power will be quickly silenced without a large supply of young foot soldiers. Giving these young people an alternative life option will reduce their desire to seek fulfilment through terrorism and increase the standard of living in regions were poverty provides terror cells with most of their man-power.

So how can this be done? With the objective that required the most force achieved, the peaceful side of the war on terror should become the focus of its architects. Offering an alternative to terrorism requires investment, job opportunities and the hope of a better life in some the world’s poorest places. If anyone has the ability to bring about such a reality, it is the United States. The amounts spent on the military side of the war on terror are mind boggling, just a slice of this money directed into job creation programmes in the Middle East and North Africa, where most young terrorists are groomed, would reduce the attractiveness of terrorism for young people.

The United States and its allies should therefore redirect its activities towards developing the regions where terrorism is most likely to sprout. Investment in education, infrastructure and the encouragement of trade will provide jobs, growth and economic security for the people who may have otherwise been attracted by terrorist groups.

After the Second World War the Marshall plan provided the economic impetus for war ravaged Europe to rebuild on a basis of peace and unity. A similar economic stimulus for the Arab worlds would not only improve the chances of reducing terrorism but would also restore some America’s lost soft power.

So why not use some of the money that would normally go to the military, which is essentially producing new terrorist with every old one it kills, and instead improve millions of lives and reduce the tension and animosity that today defines the West’s relations with the Middle East.

#development #Osama #Bin Laden #War #Terror #war on terror #peace #osama killed #terrorism #United States

You owe this to us

I’m 25, I’ve been lucky in my life. I was born in a stable, peaceful country and my parents were well off enough to provide me with a good education (I like to think a lot of it stuck) and I’ve met some amazing people who’ve given me insight into many subjects and ignited in me an interest in many topics and given me a pretty balanced view of the world. In return for my many blessings I’ve tried to have balanced views, be tolerant and develop an appreciation for people’s different beliefs and accepting even when I don’t agree.

I’m not a saint and there are times I’ve let myself and all the people who invested in me down. I try to learn from my mistakes and be humble about my successes, which is a lot more difficult than wise old people make it sound, hopefully I will improve with age. Yet despite all my luck, all the opportunities I can see before me and the hope my backers have in me I am terrified that it will be stolen from me before I have a chance to repay the favours I’ve been done.

Climate change is no longer a theory. Intelligent life on another planet is a theory; sunglasses that make me look cool exist only in theory; the long term sustainability of reality television is a theory. The increased temperature of the planet and the ever more destructive impact it is having on the earth is now fact. Before I was born people who would never meet me and meant me no harm had started stealing a planet from me and my children.

For a long time people didn’t know what they were doing, then there was a ridiculous time when people pretended that there was no problem (even today there are some nutters bouncing around claiming that all this is part of some normal cycle) but today we are at the most important point of our history, in the world’s history.

In November 2011 COP 17 will be hosted in Durban, South Africa. World leaders will come together under the guise of attempting to tackle climate change, to ensure that we (my generation, our children, their children and everyone to follow them) inherit a planet that can provide food, clean water, air and a place to gather round and listen to classic Beatles songs and shed a single poignant tear as we remember our parents singing these songs as they imagined the life we could go on to leave.

Yet my fear comes from the growing suspicion that the leaders we’ve appointed to represent us at these forums are not actually representing me, they’re selling out. We’ve been able to find agreements (even if implementation is slow) on so many issues, nuclear proliferation, land mines, money laundering and the fair trade of coffee. Yet on climate change we have nothing substantial. We have vague declarations that more must be done and that the issue is taken very seriously but little or no real action has been taken.

At COP17 our leaders owe it to us, those who did not start this but who will certainly bear the cost of fixing it, to give us a head-start on tackling climate change. Like so many my people my age I have been lucky so far, and I’m asking for a final favour, but this one you owe me. You owe me this because you expect me and my generation to continue the life you started for us, you expect us to give our children all the blessings you gave us and more, you expect that ours will not be the last to live the kind of lifestyle you worked so hard to give us.

So I lay down a challenge to the generation of my parents, on top of the blessings, the education, the experiences, the amazing music and the truly life defining sporting memories; give my generation a final and important lesson. Show us how to face adversity with courage, take a difficult decision, shirk the fears and overcome the pressures you place on yourselves and reach an ambitious agreement in Durban this year. Give me a lesson to give my children, let me tell them one day about the day when I was 25 and my parents gave me back the planet, not to keep, but to hold onto for them, so that they could do the same for their own.

Do this, do it because you owe us. If you do, we’ll owe you. And we won’t let you down.

#climate change #COP17 #politics #future #environment #durban #climate #change

Revolution of the Internet

Wingu is the Kiswahili word for Cloud.

New internet standards are being re-written by businesses to cater for the rapidly growing mobile revolution. Our experience of the world wide web is ever evolving and soon smartphones will be exploited to their fullest. Businesses will need to start molding a new business strategy just like they did for device specific applications.

HTML is going to be the first to change in the new revolution of mobile devices. HTML is the core and back bone of the internet. Senior business executives need to take note of this everywhere. It will not matter what industry you are in. There are going to be significant implications for businesses and consumers.

HTML is moving to HTML5. This in itself will revolutionize a shift in power to the mobile device. It will change the way that will all 'eat' the web and its content. The driver of new marketing platforms and productivity tools will be with the smartphones and tablets.

The internet standard that is coming will essentially inject mobile devices with "kryptonite" giving them amazing strength and a wealth of power. Essentially this will mean you do not need an application from your application store to view certain content that previously needed a certain operating system or phone. Some smartphone applications are only developed for one single OS and device. But with the new evolving way we will be able to create content on the internet, developers will only need to make one version of their 'application'. This 'application' will then only be accessible via a browser.

Consumers will be able to access the same programs and cloud-based content from any device - personal computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. This is simply because the browser is the common platform.

This is a CLOUD revolution. The power and opportunity to work with out fail, anytime, anywhere and on any device will revolutionize the consumer behavior and in turn force businesses to completely change model. The balance of power is shifting in a big way to cloud based mobile telecommunications, media and technology houses.

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HTML5 TRANSCENDS HARDWARE, STANDARDS AND IS NOT A RESPECTER OF DEVICES AND THEIR OS

HTML5 TRANSCENDS HARDWARE, STANDARDS AND IS NOT A RESPECTER OF DEVICES AND THEIR OS

Mobile users are torn when choosing their technology. Like back in the 80s, before Bill Gates integrated MS-Dos with just about any hardware people had to choose their technology based on the games, utilities and operations they had to carry out. If they wanted to do everything a Windows 7 system does today, back then they had to buy all options and hop between them to get different house tasks done.

I for one am torn between the new Samsung Galaxy Tab (coming soon in 2011) and the recent iPad 2. Apple versus Samsung, iOS versus Android etc are the wars that are happening at the moment that are throwing consumers all over the show.

HTML5 is going to close the gap on the differences for us consumers. Soon we will choose a device purely on loyalty, personality style and perhaps the slight differences in hardware performances. The most prolific and inspiring design in HTML5 is that it will allow us to run programs (most to all of them) in a browser on a smartphone.

Today personal laptops and computers require their browsers to have plug-ins to run applications in the browsers. In some cases serious work arounds need to be developed to bridge implications of standardisations. All in all this just means that functionality is lost with all the extra work needed.

So the theory is, the browser will become an all encompassing, transcending standards, universal computing platform. The consumer will be able to edit word documents, presentations, perform publishing and write complicated financial spreadsheets. Then we will be able to access social networks, watch out latest episodes from Grey's Anatomy, play World of Warcraft, and listen to music all from a single browser.

Here is the pearler. You are thinking this can only be done on a computer like an Apple MacBook or high end Sony laptop. Wrong. Any device with a browser would be able to do all this. All browsers will have this capability. But the best part is, we would get all our content that is stored remotely in the CLOUD. Thus making it all independent of locations and devices.

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HTML PUT POWERFUL PERFORMANCE INTO HARDWARE OF SMARTPHONES

At the moment the consumer heavily relies on the complicated optimisation that the applications perform to help smartphones handle the lack of horse power in their hardware (this is in comparison with laptops and computers). This lack of power in the smartphone is the reason application stores and market places have exploded with their software.

A study by Zokem (a research firm) showed that consumers spent 11 hours a month using applications. This is more time than using web browsing and talking on the internet. HTML5 will potentially change all this.

HTML5 will enable browsers to store over a 1000 times more data than currently. This will mean we can work offline and as soon as we come in contact with network it will update the CLOUD storage. This will help mitigate the big problem is CLOUD technology which in simple terms always needs a online connection to work. Not so with HTML5.

Obviously being in the CLOUD, all programs and applications will run faster as the CLOUD will process all the data in a much faster way with bigger and badder hardware. The only problem, especially for 3rd world nations, is that mobile network capacity must grow considerably to deal with a much denser and weighty data demand.

LET'S NOT GET A HEAD OF OURSELVES HERE

Not all applications and systems are for the browser. Even with more ability coming from the new web language. HTML5 is not the first wannabe universal platform to try take over the world. For example Oracle was bought by Sun Microsystems. Sun said that their Java language integrated into Oracle will mean coders would be able to write code once and it would work ANYWHERE! Fail!

There is no surety that a new standard will last time. If any at all. Culture is a hard thing to change in society. It is a massive part of globalized culture that coders develop apps and consumers purchase them. This is happening at a crazy and insane rate! People are hard to change from something they are especially addicted to like buying cool apps.

Hosting EVERYTHING in the CLOUD poses massive security fears for users. People will be very uncomfortable in their ignorance of storing so much in the CLOUD. There is much technology to protect anything in the CLOUD, but try assuring someone who does not understand how strong security is.

Their is also the issue of different browsers. This fragmentation is apparent in the current HTML4. Chrome, Firefox and IE do not treat HTML4 all the same. So how standardised can HTML5 be without being anal?

All this being said though, HTML5 has already started spreading. And it is rumored on the street that this is happening at the fastest rate yet. The CLOUD has a lot of focus on further securing it by developers so that consumers feel safter. Hardware companies are supporting the move to HTML5 in a big way. It is estimated that in the next 3 years more than 50% of all mobile applications will have switched to HTML5.

The optimisations in HTML5 are so significant that the affect on consumers and businesses will be massive. Whether HTML5 takes over the world or not as a universal platform remains to be seen. But watch this space folks, HTML5 has got the best chance yet.

#cloud #cloud technology #smartphones #HTML #HTML4 #HTML5 #applications #apps

We must make ourselves heard

The pomp and fanfare of a royal wedding have always generated enormous interest and all over the world people develop a special connection with the new couple, sharing in the joy of the special day and revelling in every detail, from the designer outfits to the elegant décor. The union of Prince William to Catherine Middleton was no exception; indeed it set a new standard for social interaction. Unlike any royal wedding before it, watching the wedding on 29 April was an interactive experience. It is estimated that roughly 2 Billion people watched the happy couple exchange their vows and this in itself is an astounding indication of where the worlds is technologically, when Williams parents wed in 1981 it is unlikely that 2 billion people even had access to television.

Even more important than the television viewership is that most of that 2 billion engaged in live discussions during the wedding, about everything from the fashion to the implications of a “commoner” princess and even the killjoys who chose today to engage any and all comers on the topic of “why the monarchy is irrelevant”.

The significance of the interaction is that through sharing in a common social activity and then discussing it in real time, even when debating its merits we are developing a common history and a shared social consciousness. It is through such activities that civilisations and cultures define themselves. The strength is we don’t even have to agree; just the fact that we’re sharing an experience is slowly bringing us closer, even if we don’t notice it yet.

The initial progress will be slow, and mostly related to enjoying spectacles like weddings and New Year’s Eve, but what must be pursued s the potential power that such interaction gives us all on truly important matters. If two billion of us can come together for a wedding, what could two million voices (across twitter, facebook, youtube and countless other social and communication platforms) do if we got together and started developing demands and advice for our governments attending the COP17 in Durban in November this year?

We should learn from the Copenhagen summit, where everyone was disappointed with the outcome except governments. This time round the world should use the very same platforms that were utilised in the run up and during the royal wedding to develop a powerful and irresistible groundswell of voices to demand action. After all, most of us are younger than the politicians attending these well catered shindigs and will be around to live on the wilted husk of a planet they leave behind for us if they don’t get their act together.

And why should it stop with climate change, we could develop platforms for exchange and discussion on any issue of importance, our activities can coincide with real world summits, meetings or declarations in order to give voice to regular citizens. We’ve seen this already in Egypt and Libya, where social media played such an important role planning, reporting and supporting the revolutions there.

Of course, the social factor should not be forgotten, sharing experiences and interacting across digital platforms is immensely important in developing a common world view and we should look for future opportunities for engaging. Learning more about each other and ensuring that our views are shaped by inputs from all over the world and not only through our own narrow view will provide us with a basis for tackling the world’s biggest problems in a united and dynamic way.

#Catherine Middleton #Twitter #Royal wedding #Prince William #COP17 #Climate change #Libya #Egypt

The children of the revolution

In the nineteen hundreds understanding the world was relatively easy, news was delivered daily in printed format or available on television in easy to understand snippets, usually delivered by friendly, smiling folk who were careful speak clearly and without an accent. What was also great was that deciding what news was important was taken care of by learned editors who ensured that nothing frivolous or unduly depressing were accidentally thrust upon an unsuspecting public. Staying “up to date” was straightforward; read the papers, watch some news. Conversations between people in the know were based around what they had both seen in the news and opinions given to them on these subjects by the learned editors. It was a boring time. Old folk loved it.

The 21st century is for the younger generations. TV news is dead, resulting in its descent to reporting on the divorces of celebrities as “breaking news” and the evolution of weather reports from public information services to its current manifestation of dangling pretty ladies in front of ever more impressive digital screens and will eventually lead to all out pornographic obscenities with a mild weather based undercurrent. Print news is too slow for a generation of people who demand to know now, not tomorrow morning. Indeed even the way these old mediums present the news does not suit the new generation of news consumers; friendly, slowly spoken reports that barely scratch the surface of an actual story are not enough for the masses of young people who can access in depth information on any topic at the click of a button. Perhaps more important that any concern over style and focus is the fact that in the 21st century everything is interactive and people want their news to be the same.

The architects of the Jasmine revolution were young people who had had enough of the old men clinging to power through violence and intimidation and used social media to develop a groundswell of support and plan protests that would lead to the peaceful removal of dictators. Only in Libya, where Colonel Gaddafi resorted to attacking his own people (in the mantra that if he can’t rule them then no-one can) did the revolution turn violent. Live updates from the protests were streamed worldwide via YouTube and Twitter, giving millions insight into the reasons for the revolution, the objectives of its protagonists and the chance to voice their own support. For many young people there was nothing that traditional news reports could offer that they had not heard, read, seen or discussed already.

The strength of the 21st century news experience is that people can be their own editors, reading through conflicting opinions, watching videos from every angle and getting facts from different sources and forming their opinions without the kindly leading hand of learned editors. The challenge of being your own editor is that you must actively seek news, or risk being left behind, at least until tomorrow morning’s easy to understand highlights package and sports report. I therefore implore us all to actively seek knowledge and edit it ourselves lest we be left behind with the Gaddafi regime, who have so lost touch they recently issued a press release (probably via fax machine) stating they were not concerned by defections because no man is irreplaceable (except presumably Gaddafi himself, who seems pretty essential to their operations).

#News #Libya #Gaddaafi #Social Networks #Digital News #Celebrity divorce #Jasmine revolution

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