Blog Post #1 - Keith MacLeod

http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/01/saudi-arabia

The Economist - Saudi Arabia: Forced Into Extinction

               
           With the ever-expanding territory of the internet and the growing influence social networking/blogging sites such as Twitter one might wonder if public officials and governments around the world will ever be able to act while remaining out of the public eye. Recently the Saudi Arabian officials from the Agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a dedicated task force for preserving the good image of a religious that is completely funded by the government, shut down an educational dinosaur exhibit in a shopping mall (rather ironically given where most of the governments money comes from) and have been receiving flak for it on Twitter. Most of the complaints stem from how the agents handled the situation, by cutting the power to the exhibit and demanding that everyone leave immediately. This action was in very poor taste and without any kind of deliberation between the government and the people; it also frightened many children and parents alike who were at the exhibit as the reason for the evacuation was not clear. It is still unclear exactly why the CPVPV shut down the exhibit but it is likely because it goes against the Qua'ran's teachings.


          Though maybe not nearly as influential as the Arab Spring this movement shows just how little control a government has these days about remaining out of the public eye. Any sort of mistreatment or abuse of power can be immediately reported to the masses, organized, and digested in a matter of seconds effectively setting up a groundwork for a movement and documenting these events for the entire world to see on Twitter (or other such blogging/social networking sites). While this is a very important tool in the fight for human rights and government responsibility it may also be a driving force behind more oppressive governments implementing a Chinese-style firewall to control the flow of information on the internet.